The remains of a West Virginia woman missing since August have been discovered at the nearby home of a registered sex offender.
Authorities discovered human remains at a home on Owings Road in Shinnston on Jan. 29, and the remains were positively identified as those of Christa Merrill, 34, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office told PEOPLE.
Merrill was last seen in nearby Clarksburg on Aug. 27. She had told family members that she’d be returning to Fairmont at 3 p.m. that day but never showed up, per a missing persons poster distributed around the area.
The Sheriff’s Office did not share the condition of the remains nor the cause of her death, but said an autopsy had been completed on Jan. 31, and the results would be released soon.
The Sheriff also did not immediately share the name of the sex offender who owns the property, but said he is currently in jail on unrelated charges.
Tax records indicate the property is owned by Andrew Neal Debolt, a registered sex offender currently facing charges for allegedly assaulting another man at a post office in November.