Man looking for his dog stumbles upon woman’s body in North Carolina woods, cops say

UPDATE: The woman has been identified as 40-year-old Crystal Loughran of Fayetteville, North Carolina.

“I’ll never understand and I’ll forever wonder why it had to happen to you,” someone on Facebook wrote, describing Loughran as a big cousin. “My heart hurts.”

The original story is below.

A man ventured into the woods the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 11, looking for his dog, North Carolina police say.

What he found set off a death investigation.

The man went into the wooded area near a residential neighborhood in Fayetteville, according to an Oct. 11 news release from the Fayetteville Police Department.

Just before 8 p.m., officers responded to a report of a woman’s body found in a field. She was pronounced dead on the scene, according to police, who are not releasing her name until her family is notified.

Police have not shared if the woman had any injuries or how long she had been in the woods before she was found.

The Fayetteville Police Department’s Homicide Unit is investigating her death, according to the release.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Fayetteville Police Department.

Fayetteville is located in Cumberland County about 70 miles southwest of Raleigh.

This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 10:22 AM with the headline "Man looking for his dog stumbles upon woman’s body in North Carolina woods, cops say."