A man has been charged in the death of a woman whose body was found along a Gaston County highway in February.
Zachary William Ramey, 35, of Blairsville, Georgia, is accused of killing Candice Aufrecht, whose body was found near Hardin Road along U.S. 321.
Aufrecht was reported missing on March 8, 2023. Family members said they last saw her at a restaurant in Lincolnton.
The Lincolnton Police Department conducted a lengthy missing persons investigation until February 2025, when her remains were found.
Police gather evidence after remains were found in a wooded area near the northbound side of U.S. 321 just south of Exit 17 Wednesday morning, Feb. 5, 2025.
An autopsy determined her cause of death to be homicide, and she was identified a few days later. Gaston County Police Department conducted an investigation that led them to a home in Lincoln County near the 400 block of Lineberger Road.
The investigation was transferred to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
Over the course of the past month, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office detectives in conjunction with Gaston County Police conducted interviews and searches.
Detectives traveled to several parts of the state from the mountains to the coast as well as South Carolina and Georgia following leads and conducting interviews.
Ramey has been extradited back to North Carolina.
He has been charged with first-degree murder in Lincoln County and concealment of death in Gaston County. He also has a charge of felony possession of a firearm by a felon.
Ramey is being held in the Lincoln County jail without bond.
According to her obituary, Aufrecht was a 41-year-old mother of two who enjoyed being outdoors, at the beach and taking long drives with her children.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Man charged with murder in death of woman found in Gaston County