HOKE COUNTY — HOKE COUNTY: Authorities are still investigating a case of confused identity, which has prompted a massive search for an unidentified Oregon woman.
Police began looking for a missing woman when Fort Bragg soldier Randall Dabbs said his fiancee, Jollyn Sue Silver, had crashed in Hoke County. Investigators, however, are not sure that the missing woman was ever in North Carolina – or of her true identity.
Police in Oregon went to the address given for Jollyn Silver, but a different woman opened the door. She did not match a picture of Silver that Dabbs gave authorities.
The photo of the unknown woman in Oregon "just looks so familiar to many people, like they've dealt with her before," Capt. John Kivett of the Hoke County Sheriff's Office told NC WANTED Monday.
Investigators found that Silver's e-mail address and home and cell phone numbers all led to the woman living at Silver's address.
That woman, whose name is unknown, was refusing to cooperate.
Kivett thought he had a real emergency on his hands Tuesday: A 29-year-old woman, stunned from a car crash, wandering through the woods.
"She was crying. She was screaming at some points," Kivett said. "She told me she was cold. She wanted help."
Dabbs, 29, believed his fiancee was driving an Enterprise rental car from her hometown of Gresham, Ore., to welcome him back from Iraq. When Silver called him in a panic, Dabbs went to the sheriff's department.
Fort Bragg, the state Highway Patrol and Raeford Aviation flew helicopters, while deputies from two counties and military police scoured the ground, searching for signs of Silver.
Authorities were in contact with Silver by cell phone during the search.
"We were asking her, 'Can you see a helicopter? Can you see an airplane? The plane you see, do you see people jumping out of it?'" Kivett said.
Silver told detectives she saw a sign for Silver City Street and the Raeford Inn, both in Hoke County. At one point, she even claimed to hear traffic.
Despite the massive search, Silver never surfaced. And investigators say signs have pointed them back to Gersham, Ore.
Twelve hours into the search, detectives discovered the cell phone Silver was using was hitting a tower in Oregon. The woman they had been talking to had never been in North Carolina.
Authorities said the turn of events shocked Dabbs, who said he met Silver online through a friend. She visited him for a few hours in July when he was on leave, Dabbs told detectives.
"He acted like he was stunned," Kivett said. "He seemed like he knew he'd been taken for a ride. He was upset by that."
Detectives continue to work to determine if they have a missing persons case on their hands and how the second woman was involved.
Anyone who recognizes either woman is asked to call Kivett at 910-875-3614 or the Hoke County Sheriff's Office at 910-875-1111.
If you have information on any aspect of this case and don't wish to speak with law enforcement, call NC WANTED toll free at 1.866.43.WANTED (1.866.439.2683) or click on "Report a Tip" Your identity can be kept confidential.
