North Carolina police find body stuffed in suitcase 5 days after pregnant woman reported missing

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North Carolina sheriff’s deputies on Monday found the body of a woman stuffed inside a suitcase near a river, authorities said.

Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker said a witness contacted Raleigh police and reported seeing a body along a section of the Neuse River Trail.

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Brittany Samone Smith, 28, was last seen near Fox Run Drive in Wendell.
(WAKE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE)

The case is being investigated as a homicide. A cause of death wasn’t immediately released.

The discovery came five days after a pregnant woman was reported missing, but Baker declined to say whether the two cases were related.

“I can’t sit here and tell you that’s what’s in there right now. We have not gotten to that point,” Baker said. “We have information to believe it.”

He added: “It’s safe to say that this is no accident.”

Authorities will confirm the identity of the woman found on Monday after an autopsy report from the State Medical Examiner’s Office.

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The sheriff’s office said last week it was searching for 28-year-old Brittany Samone Smith, who was last seen near Fox Run Drive in Wendell.

Officials said Smith is “noticeably pregnant,” almost 5 feet tall and 115 pounds.

Baker said the sheriff’s office has “people of interest” it wants to talk to and was in the area early Monday morning on a tip prior to receiving the witness call from the police.

“We’re going to find out who’s responsible, I can tell you that,” Baker told media outlets. “If this, in fact, is the young lady we’ve been looking for all weekend long, someone is responsible for that. That just doesn’t just happen.”

Authorities said anyone with information on the case should contact the department.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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