A Charlotte woman and her two young children were found more than a week after they were reported missing, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
On Friday, CMPD shared a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that said officers were investigating an apartment complex along Orchard Trace Lane near the Interstate-85 Connecter and U.S. Highway 29. The department said at the time that human remains were found in the area.
Officers discovered the remains around 1:45 p.m. that day. On Saturday, CMPD said they had presumptively identified the remains as 22-year-old Markayla Johnson and her children: 4-year-old Miracle Johnson and 7-month-old Messiah Johnson. All three had been reported missing on March 8.
CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said in a news conference Saturday afternoon they believed a person of interest to be at large somewhere in the Carolinas. However, he also said the department wouldn’t hesitate to launch a nationwide manhunt.
“We’re going to do everything we can to bring closure to the family and bring justice to the person responsible for these murders,” he said, “and we’re going to continue on until that is concluded.”
Jennings did not identify the suspect during the news briefing. However, he did say the person they were looking for was in a relationship with Johnson.
Members of Markayla Johnson’s family were also present, including grandmother Ramona Johnson who lamented the tragedy.
“We loved her to death and she knew that,” Ramona Johnson said, also asking for prayers and mentioning her Christian faith. “Jesus is in charge of everything that is going on right now. We can’t do more than is expected.”
