Police seek help in locating pregnant North Carolina woman missing since early October
There’s not a day that goes by that Shameka Johnston doesn’t call one of her sisters to talk, or drop by her mom’s place of work just to say hello.
But the 28-year-old resident of Troy, North Carolina, who is nearly four months pregnant with her first child, hasn’t been seen or heard from since October 13, and her family is extremely worried and concerned for her well-being.
“We talked at least three times that day,” her mother Sandra Ray told Dateline, referring to the day Shameka went missing. “For her not to call the next day, well, that’s not like her. And now it’s almost been two weeks. No call. No text. Nothing. All I know is something is wrong.”
Shameka’s family is worried not only because they are used to talking or seeing her every day, but also because she is nearly four months pregnant with her first child.
“She didn’t know what she was having, but she kept calling the baby Junior,” her sister Sondra Johnston told Dateline. She added that her sister had tried to get pregnant for a long time, and was very excited to be a mom.
“Ain’t nobody got a better sister than Meme,” Sondra said, using the family’s nickname for Shameka. “She’s the best auntie and like a mother to her nieces and nephews and like a mother to us, her sisters.”
The sisters’ mother told Dateline she remembers October 13 -- the day Shameka went missing -- as a normal day and that her daughter appeared to be happy.
“She came into my job about 7 a.m. saying, ‘hey mama, I just wanted to say hi,’” Sandra told Dateline. “And then she’d go on about her day.”
Later that evening, Shameka was at the Dollar General with her sister and then at the BP gas station on Albemarle Road. Her sister reported to her family and the police that she saw Shameka talking to two men she knew at the gas station, told her they were giving her a ride, and then got into their truck.
Troy Police confirmed to Dateline that they are concerned about Shameka’s safety and say they are continuing to investigate her disappearance, but would not release details about the men in the truck. They are seeking the public’s help in locating Shameka and urge anyone with information to call the police station.
In the meantime, Shameka’s family has been scouring the woods of Montgomery County, passing out fliers in the surrounding towns and spreading the word on social media.
“We’re doing everything we can to bring Meme home safe,” Shameka’s father, Cleveland Johnston, told Dateline. “She’s out there. We just need to bring her home.”
Shameka, who is nearly four months pregnant, is 5’1” tall and weighs about 160 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes. She has a scar on her forehead and her left cheek.
Anyone with information on Shameka’s whereabouts is asked to call the Troy Police Department at 910-576-8151.
