Pet duck reportedly leads investigators to missing grandmother’s remains under trailer

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (TCD) -- A husband and wife face murder charges after a missing elderly woman’s remains were located under a trailer thanks to a pet duck.

The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office announced April 21 that Mark Alan Barnes and Angela Wamsley were charged with first-degree murder for her grandmother Nellie Sullivan’s death. Sullivan’s body was found in Candler, N.C., the week prior.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, Barnes and Wamsley were taken into custody Dec. 17, 2020, on several charges, including animal cruelty, possession of drug paraphernalia, and more. A year later, on Dec. 20, 2021, Barnes was charged with concealing a death. Wamsley received the same charge Jan. 7, 2022.

WLOS-TV reports Sullivan, 92, lived in a trailer with the couple. A neighbor described her as a "sweet little old lady" who would "give you the clothes off her back."

According to WLOS, a pet duck helped locate remains that eluded investigators for so long.

Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Mark Walker explained, "Apparently, the duck ran underneath the trailer at 11 Beady Eyed Lane, and as they were chasing after their pet duck, they ran across the container that Nellie Sullivan was located in."

The trailer was reportedly being rented, WLOS reports.

Walker believes Sullivan was killed elsewhere, then brought to the trailer where they all resided. Her remains were sent to an anthropologist to "nail down exactly how long she’s been deceased."

Walker said he thinks it has been "multiple years."

Wamsley and Barnes allegedly collected Sullivan’s Social Security benefits and also refilled her prescriptions.

Walker told WLOS, "Instead of receiving the care she needed from those that are supposed to love her the most, she received the exact opposite in the worst possible way."

Her cause of death has not yet been determined, but as for the pet, Walker said, "If I could give that duck a medal, I would."

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