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A car containing a body was pulled from the Roanoke River this evening about a hundred yards south of the Weldon boat ramp at River Falls Park.

Roanoke Rapids police Chief Bobby Martin said after the vehicle was pulled from the water it could not be immediately determined who was inside. "We're unable to determine who it is, whether it’s male or whether it’s female in the current condition and state that the body is in." 

The police chief would not speculate on whether the body inside was one of two recent missing people – Kunta Shearin or Keyon West. 

He said at this point it cannot be determined how long the vehicle was in the water.

While it is widely speculated and reported by one media outlet that West was in the vehicle, Martin said, "We’re going to rely on professionals for that so that we make sure we give proper factual information." 

Martin said the vehicle did not belong to West and while he said police know who owns it he would not divulge that information and he would not confirm whether it belonged to acquaintances or associates of West or Shearin.

Martin said agents Morgan Worrell and Curtis Batchelor had been directed to the boat landing Tuesday between 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. about a car possibly in the water. He said conditions were not favorable for a search.

Today, however, a full scale search was conducted which included several dive teams and law enforcement from Roanoke Rapids, Weldon, and the sheriff’s offices of Halifax and Northampton counties.

After notification on Tuesday Weldon police Chief Christopher Davis it could not be immediately determined whether anyone was in the vehicle and it was unclear how it ended up in the water.

Between 2:30 and 2:45 this afternoon boats were ready to go into the waters of the river. The boats headed in a south to southeast position where the car was located, towed and placed on a rollback for further investigation.

Roanoke Rapids received notification on December 5 that West had not been seen since around noon on December 2.

West had been a suspect in the Glenview quadruple homicides of 2017 but had charges dismissed after one of the defendants, James Powell, recanted his statement about West, Dontavious Cotton, and Matthew Simms being involved.

In light of the three dismissals in the case, Davis said the sheriff’s office continues to investigate.

In September Roanoke Rapids police released information that Shearin was missing after he was named a suspect in two July robberies.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the police department at 252-533-2810, the sheriff’s office at 252-583-8201, the Weldon Police Department at 252-536-3136 or Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444.