Teresa McElderry

As an adult, Teresa struggled with addiction and solicitation. Concerned for her well-being while on the Augusta streets, her family provided her with a cell phone and encouraged her to quit. Dera said, “I didn’t want her out there living like that, and she would say I’m okay. Nothing is going to happen to me,” But concern constantly plagued the back of their mind. “Men she hung out with, that was the issue,” Jowona remembers. “She would get with them and drink, and they would fight. She would end up in the hospital."

Ultimately, the whole family relocated to Augusta in what seemed to be a good move for Teresa. She got a job at Maryland Fried Chicken, her own apartment, and regularly attended church. Teresa was stable and out of the downtown scene for over a year. “I was really proud of her. It motivated me and made me want to help her even more and be a part of her life,” her daughter said. “Seeing her get that job. It didn’t matter how she got there. She walked to work, but she went."

Unfortunately, after losing her job, Teresa returned to her old lifestyle. According to the incident report with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Friday, September 11, 2009, a witness flagged down a deputy after they found a body at about 9:55 a.m. on a dirt road by the Boat House off the 300 block of Prep Phillips Drive, now Riverfront Dr. Investigators collected evidence, such as her fingerprints, tire tracks, and DNA, at the scene for processing. Police were able to use AFIS to identify the body as Teresa’s. Teresa was last seen alive on Thursday, September 10th night in downtown Augusta. She was wearing black Levis jeans, a multi-colored black, red, and grey striped shirt, and white, blue, and lime green tennis shoes with a black wig.

Captain Brandon Beckman worked with the Criminal Investigation Division and speculated that she was murdered elsewhere and was disposed of off the dirt road. “It seemed like maybe it was done in a rush where her body was found,” Cpt. Beckman said. While investigators identified 5 people of interest, no suspects have been developed and Teresa’s case has gone cold.