Found Deceased LA - Erica Hunt, 20, Opelousas, 4 July 2016

[Al Ka]

Her thread under Unidentified - her remains were found in Dec 2018 and DNA Doe Project worked on her case -

LA - LA - Ville Platte, WhtFem UP58975, UnkAge, partial remains found in Platte Ville, Dec'18

 

[YaYa_521]

Rest in peace, Erica.

 

[mlhenn]

Erica Nicole Hunt – The Charley Project

Last updated February 5, 2021; case resolved.

Details of Disappearance
Hunt disappeared from Opelousas, Louisiana on July 4, 2016. In December 2018, her skeletal remains were found under a shed on Prairie Ronde Road in Evangeline Parish. They were identified in February 2021. Her death is under investigation.

 

[MarziPanda]

How far is it from where she was last seen to where her remains were found? She was reported missing, so you'd think someone would make the connection if it were close by.

 

[mlhenn]

How far is it from where she was last seen to where her remains were found? She was reported missing, so you'd think someone would make the connection if it were close by.

It states she was found under a shed on Prairie Road. The link to the map below shows the Baptist church merely as a reference to the general location (the road itself).

Google Maps

Looks like the distance from where she was last seen to where she was found is around 14 miles (20 min drive).

 

[djanga]

How far is it from where she was last seen to where her remains were found? She was reported missing, so you'd think someone would make the connection if it were close by.

I was thinking the same. But I think there was a lot of misleading information in the beginning (postmortem interval, age, race). According to the original newspaper article the scull was considered to be “very old”. Also it was said that former owner of the barn was involved with high risk females, maybe it was the working theory of the investigators. Still, I don’t understand why it was not submitted to CODIS

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Erica Hunt, 20, vanished on July 4, 2016. Her skeletal remains were found during a search for a missing Ville Platte boy. Her death is now being investigated as a homicide, State Police Troop I spokesman Thomas Gossen said.

Hunt was able to be identified through the assistance of the LSU FACES Laboratory, the State Police Crime Lab and DNA Doe Project along with help from the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Opelousas Police Department.
Skeletal remains found in Evangeline Parish identified as missing Opelousas woman

 

[imstilla.grandma]

In December of 2018, the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Louisiana State Police’s Bureau of Investigations to investigate human remains found in rural Evangeline Parish.

The LSU FACES Lab excavated the remains and worked with the State Police Crime Lab to analyze and identify the victim. Through the teamwork of the DNA Doe Project, LSU FACES lab, and the State Police Crime Lab, the remains were determined to be Erica Nicole Hunt.

The State Police, the Opelousas Police Department, the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office and the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office are asking for your help in providing information related to Hunt’s disappearance on July 4, 2016.

Submit your anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers or through the Louisiana State Police online reporting system on a convenient and secure reporting form that is submitted to the appropriate investigators.

Citizens can access the form by visiting www.lsp.org and clicking the Suspicious Activity link.
https://www.katc.com/community/crim...help-needed-in-solving-homicide-of-erica-hunt


A Wisconsin woman is making a big impact in an investigation here in Acadiana.

Jenny Lecus is a forensic genealogist working for the non-profit DNA Doe Project. She says the organization has helped solve more than 40 criminal cases like Erica Hunt's.

Erica Hunt disappeared from Opelousas in the summer of 2016. More than two years later, remains were discovered in Evangeline Parish during the search for a missing boy. You can see that story here.

Hunt was last seen outside of Ray's Boudin in Opelousas nearly five years ago.

Lecus tells KATC that finding a match to the searches is a bittersweet feeling because they don't always mean closure for the victim's family.

"[The] family is going to have answers. But those answers aren't happy ones," said Lecus. "And there's always that, at least they know. But you, you know, your heart always goes out to them, you never stop thinking about them."

"When tips have dried up, leads haven't gone anywhere. People aren't talking, you really have no idea who your John or Jane Doe could be. That's when they turn to us and to other people who do this kind of work," she said. "And it truly is the best way to get these names back to these individuals."

To read our story about how the process works, click here.

If you have any information about the disappearance and death of Erica Hunt, call Crime Stoppers at 948-TIPS. You can also text "TIPS 6-2-5" and the tip to CRIMES. bbm
https://www.katc.com/news/around-acadiana/remains-match-with-erica-hunt-following-dna-analysis

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The skeletal remains were found during a search for a missing child at the time, but not identified until two years later through the efforts of the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab, the LSU Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services (FACES) Laboratory and the DNA Doe Project, Louisiana State Police Troop I spokesman Thomas Gossen stated in the release.


On February 5, 2021, State Police investigators announced they were able to positively confirm a forensic match to Erica Hunt.

The Louisiana State Police are investigating Erica’s death as a homicide with assistance from the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Opelousas Police Department.

The 20-year-old mother of then 2-year-old Breionna vanished the weekend of July 4, 2016. A Fourth of July gathering with her family in Opelousas on July 3 was the last time she was seen by her family.

Erica’s mother and sister spoke to Dateline in the summer of 2020.

“It was just a good day for our family,” Erica’s sister, Shantashia Isaac, told Dateline. “Everyone was just hanging out and having a good time.”

Shantashia said Erica seemed to be enjoying herself as she gushed about plans for her upcoming 21st birthday and was working toward moving into a new house.

Erica’s mother, Shannon Isaac, told Dateline she remembers her daughter talking about her plans to go to Lake Charles the next day with a friend who also had a child. But those plans never happened.

In 2020, Chief McClelland told Dateline there were no suspects in Erica’s disappearance. But following the discovery and identification of her remains, Erica’s death is being investigated as a homicide and the public is asked to call authorities with any information that may be of assistance in the case.

In a statement shared on the Facebook page “Bring Erica Hunt Home,” the family said, “To those of you, who has liked and shared. Today we received word that the remains of Erica Nicole Hunt has been found. Thank you all for the concern, shares and prayers.”
Homicide investigation underway after skeletal remains found in 2018 identified as Louisiana woman Erica Nicole Hunt who vanished four years ago

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 19, 2023

Memorial for Erica Hunt who went missing in 2016, was put to rest in Opelousas

In 2018, remains of Erica Hunt were found in Evangeline Parish. Now 5 years later, her family is able to put her to rest.

www.katc.com

[...]

"It was a good feeling, even though we still haven't gotten justice yet but it was a good feeling to put her remains to rest," said SI, Hunt's mother.

Although the family has found some closure by putting Erica Hunt to rest, her family is still looking for answers to her disappearance.

[...]

Hunt's family continues to urge anyone with information relating to her disappearance to come forward.

Opelousas Police ask anyone with any information related to Erica Hunt's disappearances to contact the Opelousas Police Department at 337-948-2500, crimetips@opelousaspd.com or through Crime Stoppers (337-948-TIPS, www.stlandrycrimestoppers.com [stlandrycrimestoppers.com] or by using the P3 mobile App.) Tipsters can remain anonymous. Tipsters can receive up to a $1000.00 cash reward.