A Turkey woman, presumed missing a day earlier, was found floating in a swamp just off Old Warsaw Road Wednesday morning, the victim of an apparent vehicular accident.
Reports from the N.C. Highway Patrol noted that she had been ejected from her vehicle, which was found in a ravine on Old Warsaw Road near Pope Road on New Year’s Eve.
The body of Brenda Lamb Register, 68, of Turkey, was discovered around 10:30 a. m. Wednesday morning as investigators were riding along her last known route after she was reported missing.
Register had been reported missing on Dec. 30.
“The wreck was on the 31st of December,” said Highway Patrol Sgt. Kevin Pearson. “A missing persons report was filed to the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office on the 3oth. That’s how we all got started on this. The Sheriff’s Department found the vehicle along the last known route of travel. The deputy came up on the vehicle in the ravine and subsequently found the body floating on top of the water.”
According to Highway Patrol, the vehicle, a 2012 Kia Sorento, was traveling north on Old Warsaw Road when it crossed the center line and ran off the road to the left. The vehicle then traveled into the Beaverdam Swamp where it became submerged. Register was the only one reportedly in the vehicle and no other vehicles were involved.
“There’s a lot of things we don’t know about this just yet,” said Pearson. “I won’t speculate on it. We don’t really know what her medical history i. We know she was about 68 years of age. It was not a very severe collision. I don’t know if she fell asleep behind the wheel or if she had some medical condition. When the pathologist does what he’s got to do that could maybe enlighten us a little bit.”
As of press time, no further details were provided about the crash. According to Highway Patrol, further investigations will be carried out to determine the cause of the crash and the victim’s history.