CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, S.C. — Multiple sources confirmed to WSOC that the body of Erica Parsons was discovered this week in Chesterfield County.
The South Carolina girl was last seen in November of 2011 but her family didn’t report her missing until July 2013.
At the time she was just 13 years old.
Several law enforcement and family members, who did not want to be identified, confirmed the information but would not go into detail.
Erica’s adoptive parents, Sandy and Casey Parsons, initially told authorities that they had last seen their daughter when she went to a relative’s house – but investigators later determined they were lying, according to WCNC.
Both parents are incarcerated in federal prison on numerous counts, including mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the government, among others.
Prosecutors in a May, 2015 trial said that the Parsons continued to claim Erica as a dependent for tax purposes for almost two years before she was finally reported missing.
Despite so much time passing, multiple branches of law enforcement, including the FBI, vowed to find Erica. Investigators worked for years, creating age progression photos, working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and interviewing those close to her.
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office is expected to hold a press conference to update the investigation.
This is a developing story.
