Missing high schoolers found dead with gunshot wounds on NC trail

MEBANE, N.C. (WRAL) - Authorities in North Carolina are investigating the deaths of two missing high schoolers as homicides after bodies believed to be theirs were found on a trail in the woods.

A red cross with flowers surrounding it marks the site where 18-year-old Devin Clark and 14-year-old Lyric Woods were found dead Sunday afternoon. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said two men riding four-wheelers discovered the bodies about 2.5 miles from Woods’ home.

David White lives just feet from where the two friends were found dead with gunshot wounds. He says he heard about 20 gunshots Friday night.

“I heard about close to 10 shots going off, like an automatic gun, and then, a pause for a little bit and five more shots went off,” he said.

The sheriff’s office is investigating the deaths as homicides.

Clark’s mother, Tiffany Concepcion, filed a police report about an hour before her son’s body was found.

“He’d never hurt nobody, and for him to get done like this is … I have to have answers,” she said. “He was an athletic person. He was a good person. He was a good friend. He had a good heart.”

Woods’ family reported her missing Saturday afternoon. An incident report said the teen’s stepfather last saw her at home around 11 p.m. Friday. He went to wake her up Saturday morning, but she was gone.

Authorities checked hunting stands and backwoods trails and used a K-9 to search for Woods, her scent leading the dog into the woods.

A report states a neighbor said they saw Woods riding in a vehicle around 3 a.m. Saturday near where her body was found. Deputies believe the teen got a ride from someone in that car.

Conception also says she believes a third person was involved in the high schoolers’ disappearances and is responsible for their deaths.

“Where’s the other person? Who’s the other person that picked either one of them up? Who is the person or people that dropped them off?” she said.

The sheriff’s office has not provided any information about who might be responsible for the high schoolers’ deaths.

The North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office is still confirming the victims’ identities and causes of death.

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