Missing N.C. Girl Mariah Woods Was Allegedly Abused: Reports

Mariah Kay Woods went missing Nov. 26 . (Missingkids.org)

Mariah Woods—the 3-year-old girl who was missing in North Carolina before her body was found and positively identified this week—may have been abused, according to court documents.

Onslow County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday confirmed that remains found in a creek a few miles from where she lived belonged to Mariah. Her mother reported her missing five days before the find, Fox8 reported.

The boyfriend of her mother, Earl Kimrey, was arrested and charged with concealing the girl’s death.

Court documents obtained by the Jacksonville Daily News showed that Kimrey allegedly abused Mariah and her two brothers. Police said he hit “both the [boys] with a belt,” and it caused one of them to suffer a bloody nose.

Alex Woods, Mariah’s biological father, provided the court documents to the Daily News.

One of the boys also said that they saw Kimrey allegedly abusing Mariah, and her mother knew about the purported abuse and his drug use, the documents show.

“The respondent mother [Kristy Woods] failed to protect the juveniles from discipline by Mr. Kimrey,” the court documents said, per the newspaper. “The respondent parents have a history of exposing the juveniles to adult situations and conversation during their ongoing custody battle.”

The documents suggested that there may be a reason to believe the children were exposed to “a substantial risk of physical injury or sexual abuse because of the parent, guardian, custodian, or caretaker has created conditions likely to cause injury or abuse or has failed to provide, or is unable to provide, adequate supervision or protection,” the News-Observer reported.

Mariah’s cause of death is not clear, but Kimrey “secretly disposed of the dead child’s body,” Fox8 reported.

Additional charges against Kimrey could be filed.

He appeared in court on Monday, and his bond was set at $1 million, the News-Observer reported. He’s being held at the Onslow County Detention Center.

Mariah was last seen alive when her mom put her to bed about 11 p.m. on Nov. 26. When she was reported missing, an Amber Alert was issued. More than 225 members who belong to 14 local, state, and federal agencies have carried out dozens of interviews in the girl’s case, it was reported.

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