A man in Virginia was arrested Tuesday night after police found a body during a search for 20-year-old Avriel Hooks, who disappeared under “suspicious” circumstances.
The Lynchburg Police Department said in a press release Tuesday that a body was found during the search for Hooks and later said that her husband, 21-year-old Michael Perry III, was arrested after being questioned.
Perry is being held without bond at the Blue Ridge County Jail on charges of second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of a dead body on private property.
A body was found in a wooded area off U.S. 60 in Amherst, Virginia. Authorities are waiting for confirmation on whether the body is Hooks.
“LPD Detectives worked tirelessly over the past week, utilizing all available investigative resources and partnered with Hooks’ family, our community, local, state, and federal partners with hopes of locating Hooks safely,” the police department said in a press release. “Your Lynchburg Police Department would like to thank Amherst County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations for their assistance in this case.”
Police said on Monday that Hooks was last seen by her family around 8 p.m. on Aug. 22.
A Facebook profile for Hooks says she is separated, and her family told WSET that the couple was estranged.
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Her “lack of communication with her family and abnormal absence makes her disappearance suspicious,” officials said.
Hooks’ family reported her missing on Aug. 23.
Ashley Pittman, her mother, told WSET she received a text from Hooks around 6 a.m. the day she was reported missing, but does not think her daughter actually was the one who sent it.
“The text message didn’t seem like the way she would text. It sounded off,” Hooks said.
The text message coming from Hooks’ phone said she needed some “me time” and was at a friend’s house.
Her parents say that is not their daughter’s way of talking.
