Body found buried in backyard of house during missing woman investigation: Robeson Co. Sheriff

Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Missing woman's body found buried in backyard of house in Rowland, NC
Robeson County deputies say 31-year-old Samantha Bryant was reported missing on July 31.

ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. -- A missing woman's case in North Carolina may be connected to a body found a week later.

The Robeson County Sheriff's Office confirmed via news release that while investigating a missing woman's case they found a body buried in a field behind a house in Rowland.

The remains were found Monday, exactly a week after 31-year-old Samantha Bryant was reported missing. The sheriff's office said they conducted ground and aerial searches when they made the discovery in the 300 block of Drops Landing Road.

Samantha Bryant (Photo: Robeson County Sheriff's Office)

Tyrone Brooks, 37, of Rowland has been charged with first-degree murder in the investigation. He's also facing charges of concealing/failing to report a death and altering/destroying evidence related to the investigation.

Investigators did not say what led them to that area, or Brooks' connection to Bryant.

Tyrone Brooks (Photo: Robeson County Sheriff's Office)

Bryant's body has been sent to the NC Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death and positive identification.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Robeson County Sheriff's Office at (910) 671-3100 or (910) 671-3170.

SEE ALSO | Reward for information in unsolved 2017 deaths of 3 Lumberton women increased to $75,000

The bodies of Christina Bennett, Rhonda Jones and Megan Oxendine were found within a four-block radius in Lumberton in April and June 2017.

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