Found Deceased NC - Kristen Ashley Bennett, 24, Carteret County, 14 Aug 2018 *Arrest*

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Gary Bumgardner said:
Why have they not done a ground search around where she was last seen? 3 weeks now. Is that not long enough to be missing to at least search hibbs Rd & 24hyw. This is BS. Someone knows something or you would think they be turning every stone over looking for her. She would not leave her son and it was his first year in school she would not miss that. Please tell me why you would not search for her before 3 weeks of her gone. Still waiting to find out why no search yet. This hurts not knowing what happened.
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Exactly, Gary. Having no searches makes no sense to me.
 
I'm not sure if this will work or not but I thought I would try it anyway. I'm not great with linking videos.
I was out running errands today and thought y'all might like to get a better visual of the area that Kristen lives in. As you will see in the video the Croatan Forest practically surrounds the area.
This was filmed at 2:13 pm today, Tues. Notice the amount of traffic on this road during the day. It still baffles me how if she left on foot around 2:00 pm there weren't more sightings of her walking. Shortly after I turn on to Hibbs Rd you will see a woman standing on the right side of the road. Like I have said before, it's unusual to see people walking on Hibbs and just as this woman standing there sticks out like a sore thumb, IMO Kristen walking down the road would be undeniably noticeable
The video starts on Eastbound Hwy 24 just before the Dollar General that she worked at.
At 3:07 I turn north on to Hibbs Rd.
At 5:15 I am passing Kristen's house and God's City of Refuge church across the street
At 7:50 I am turning west on Hwy 70 heading toward the town of Newport.

 
I just turned on the news. This is what I suspected would happen from the start. It made no sense to me that she would have left on foot, leaving behind a car, to walk on a narrow and heavily traveled road and not be seen, by anyone. Just not plausible. I'm so heartbroken for her family and especially for her son. He not only lost his mother but he lost her by the hands of his father. RIP Kristen
 
Orgona said:
Here you go:
Boyfriend charged with murder in missing Newport woman case
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Deputies say 26-year-old Lewis Branche III, who also went by Trey Branche, is charged with one open count of murder and one count of concealing/failing to report a death.
While they have not located her body, deputies say their investigation lead them to physical and digital evidence that Bennett is dead, including physical evidence from a nearby wooded area.

Gary Bumgardner said:
Why have they not done a ground search around where she was last seen? 3 weeks now. Is that not long enough to be missing to at least search hibbs Rd & 24hyw. This is BS. Someone knows something or you would think they be turning every stone over looking for her. She would not leave her son and it was his first year in school she would not miss that. Please tell me why you would not search for her before 3 weeks of her gone. Still waiting to find out why no search yet. This hurts not knowing what happened.
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We now know our suspicions were correct. They had evidence to suggest Kristen is deceased and was taken from the area, so there is no need for public searches.

I am very sad for this outcome. I hope justice is swift for you and your family.
 
Oh wow. Sad ending. RIP Kristen.

I knew something was off with the circumstances. We now know why LE wasn't out begging the public for assistance. Glad they were on top of it, even though we had our concerns.

JMO.
 
Oh no, I'm so sorry. I wish it were different but at least she will have justice. My heart goes out to her family and her little son, they will have hard times ahead but it looks like that little boy will have a lot of people to love him and remind him of how wonderful his mother was.
 
Alethea said:
It looks like Trey Branche deleted his FB account after his arrest. His cover photo was a bunch of guns on a bed and his latest post was telling people where to put their opinions of him in a...graphic cartoon.
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I noticed that too. Wonder how he managed that? Maybe someone he knows has his log in info and deleted it for him.
 
Alethea said:
I should have phrased my comment better. It could have been deleted before he was arrested but I checked 2 days ago and it was up. So sometime between then and now it was deleted.
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I saw it up last night. I kept expecting him to post and in fact he never posted once about Kristen missing. He did comment on other’s posts.
 
insearchoflight said:
I saw it up last night. I kept expecting him to post and in fact he never posted once about Kristen missing. He did comment on other’s posts.
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Based on that he might have gotten a call that LE wanted to talk to him again and he deleted it then. Now I want to vomit thinking of his comments on her poor father's posts, "I wish I could see her smile again." What a sick
 
Alethea said:
Based on that he might have gotten a call that LE wanted to talk to him again and he deleted it then. Now I want to vomit thinking of his comments on her poor father's posts, "I wish I could see her smile again." What a sick
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Yeah, and dad just posted a picture a few days ago of she and this , so I am sure he is in a state of utter shock and disbelief right now. I doubt that picture will be there when dad logs back in though. I can't imagine the pain - and justifiable rage - dad is feeling right now. I know that her family and friends are hurting too, but she seemed to be a daddy's girl. Just hope he gets through this without doing something to put himself at risk. I know that I sure as heck would battle those kinds of temptations if someone harmed my little girl.

JMO.
 
Statement from Sheriff's Office: Carteret County Sheriff's Office

MEDIA RELEASE
Release Date: September 4, 2018

Newport man charged in girlfriend’s disappearance

On 09/04/2018, Carteret County Deputies arrested Lewis Victor Branche III, also known as Trey Branche, 26, of Hibbs Road, Newport in connection with the disappearance of his girlfriend of six-years Kristen Ashley Bennett.

Kristen Bennett, 24, was reported as a missing person by her mother on Thursday, 08/16/2018, two days after she was last seen with Branche at their residence on Hibbs Road in Newport. On the same day of the missing person report, detectives interviewed Branche and conducted a search of the home. Since then detectives have been investigating countless pieces of information and have interviewed numerous witnesses.

On 08/23/2018 the Sheriff’s Office and the NCSBI executed a search warrant on the home and vehicles owned and operated by Bennett and Branche. Physical evidence obtained from the search warrant combined with nearby digital evidence and additional physical evidence obtained from a nearby wooded area indicate that Bennett is deceased. Investigators have not yet located Bennett’s body.

Branche is currently being held in the Carteret County Jail with no bond charged with one open count of murder and one count of concealing/failing to report her death. Investigators are working with Bennett’s family and will be continuing the search for Kristen’s body. Branche is no longer cooperating with officials and is scheduled for his first court appearance Wednesday morning. As the investigation continues, no further details can be provided about the case at this time.
 
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