The remains of a woman who had been missing for six months have been found at a registered sex offender’s home in West Virginia.
Christa Merrill, 34, was last seen in Clarksburg in the north of the state last summer. Her body was identified at the home in nearby Shinnston on January 29.
Harrison County Sheriff’s Office told DailyMail.com the home was at 720 Owings Road. Property records show that Andrew Neal Debolt lives at the address.
Debolt is listed as a registered sex offender, and he is currently being held at the Salem Correctional Center (SCC) with a probation hearing later this year.
Merrill, from Fairmont, West Virginia, told relatives she would be meeting them in her hometown at 3pm on August 27, but she never showed up.
Her distraught family and friends plastered the town with missing persons posters in the hopes of finding her over the summer and fall of last year.
But their worst fears were confirmed this week. Harrison County Sheriff’s Office said they were informed on Tuesday that she had been identified at the Shinnston home.
Merrill’s cause of death has not been disclosed as the autopsy results are pending. Debolt has not been charged in relation to the case.
Christa Merrill, 34, pictured above, was last seen in Clarksburg in the north of the state on August 27. Her body was identified at the home in nearby Shinnston on January 29
Harrison County Sheriff’s Office told DailyMail.com the home was at 720 Owings Road. Property records show that Andrew Neal Debolt (pictured) lives at the address
Debolt is listed as a registered sex offender, and he is currently being held at the Salem Correctional Center (SCC) with a probation hearing scheduled for later this year
The West Virginia man, aged in his early forties, has at least three police mugshots, and records show he was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse in October 2005.
He led police officers on a chase through woodland in December 2019 after he violated his supervised release terms by leaving his house at night, according to local news reports.
Debolt was using a side-by-side utility vehicle when he was tracked down by cops, and he almost struck their patrol car when they tried to apprehend him, per CBS affiliate WDTV.
He fled to an ‘associate’s house’ according to the report, where police again tracked him down. Debolt refused to surrender and told police he had a female hostage.
Following about an hour and a half standoff with police, Debolt eventually surrendered. The female ‘hostage’ appeared to be unharmed and also surrendered.
Merrill from Fairmont, West Virginia, told relatives she would be meeting them in her hometown at 3pm on August 27, but she never showed up. Her remains were identified last week
He is also currently facing charges for allegedly assaulting a man at a post office in November, according to People magazine.
Merrill also has previous arrests. She was detained for disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and public intoxication on August 20 2024 – one week before she went missing.
DailyMail.com has contacted Harrison County Sheriff’s Office for more information.
