Janet Elizabeth Simpson

WCCB Newsdesk
Story Created: Dec 9, 2010 at 10:55 AM EST
Story Updated: Dec 9, 2010 at 10:55 AM EST
CHARLOTTE, NC - A Charlotte family is desperate to find a woman they haven't heard from in three days.
Janet Simpson was headed to a family reunion on Sunday.
The 56 year-old hasn't been seen since she left the Liberty East restaurant on Independence Boulevard.
Family friend and spokesperson, Mike Stephens, says her disappearance is out of character.  "I'd love nothing more than to find her stressed out in a hotel room sitting somewhere...that would be wonderful, absolutely wonderful."
Simpson was driving a tan GMC envoy. It has a North Carolina tag... S-X-M 15-10.
If you've seen the SUV or Simpson, call police.

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They have reported that her car had Onstar, but they have not been able to pick up a signal...

No OnStar signal for missing 56-year-old woman's SUV

Police still looking for Janet Simpson and her gold 2004 GMC Envoy.

By Meghan Cooke
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Posted: Thursday, Dec. 09, 2010

Police are still searching for a Charlotte woman who has been missing since Sunday.

Janet Elizabeth Simpson, 56, was last seen leaving the Liberty East Restaurant on East Independence Boulevard at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.

Police say they've been searching for Simpson's gold 2004 GMC Envoy, which is equipped with OnStar, a navigation and communication system that can provide a vehicle's exact location.

But police say they can't find the SUV's signal, which could mean its OnStar system is malfunctioning or the vehicle might be in a parking garage or some other area that is blocking its signal.

Myra Pendry, a Liberty East waitress, told the Observer that she saw Simpson, her former classmate, on Sunday morning when she came for breakfast at the restaurant, where she is a regular.

Relatives said Simpson, a mortgage broker, did not come home Sunday night and didn't arrive at work Monday at a Bank of Granite branch in Charlotte.

Friends and family have left messages on Simpson's home and cell phone, said Mike Stephens, Simpson's ex-husband, who has remained close friends with her.

Now her cell phone's inbox is full, and they still haven't heard from her, he said Wednesday.

Stephens said his ex-wife had been seeing a man in Durham, who said he spoke to her Sunday as she was leaving the restaurant. She told the man in Durham she had a few errands to run and she'd call him later, Stephens said. She never called.

"We're just hoping for the best at this point," Stephens said.

Stephens said Simpson has been going through a stressful period following the death two weeks ago of her mother, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

"I'd love nothing more than to find her stressed out in a hotel," he said.

But Stephens said she's never left for days without telling anyone.

"That's the thing that really scares you," he said.

Police say Simpson is 5 feet, 3 inches tall, 130 pounds and has shoulder-length sandy-blond hair. She drives a GMC Envoy with an N.C. tag, SXM-1510.

Police ask anyone with information to call 704-336-2311.

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Somehow I don't think she disabled the on star. It sounds really complicated. I am worried that she might have been horribly depressed and taken her own life.

Everyone that saw her or talked to her that day said that she acted just like she always did. I'm afraid that in her "errand-running", she crossed paths with someone that has harmed her. I'm afraid that this story is not going to have a positive ending...

To me it sounded like she had kind of went in to hiding after her Mother died. Her voice mail box on her cell phone is full as well. Not a good sign at all.

On Websleuths there was a member that had a sister that went missing last month. She was in New Mexico with her husband on a business trip. They had an argument and she left the hotel in the rental van equipped with OnStar. It stopped working or something.
She was found about 5 days after she had committed suicide in a campus parking lot that was closed over the weekend. Reclined in the front seat. She OD'ed. It was, and is a tragedy. This case reminds me of that.

I am sorry to even say that is what I am thinking. This thread has a similar story.
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Police Find Missing Woman’s SUV, Search Area For Clues
Posted: 8:51 am EST December 10, 2010
Updated: 11:59 am EST December 10, 2010

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Belmont police found a missing Charlotte woman’s vehicle on Parkdale Drive near the Catawba River, but the woman is still missing.
Police are now searching the Parkdale Drive area for other clues in 56-year-old Janet Simpson’s disappearance.
A Belmont officer spotted Simpson’s abandoned SUV on Thursday night in a vacant lot near a building that is being torn down. They had been looking for it since Sunday morning, when Simpson was last seen leaving Liberty East restaurant on East Independence Boulevard.
Simpson has not shown up for work, contacted family members or used her cell phone since then, investigators said.
Officers from the Belmont Police Department and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department are searching the area where the SUV was found, focusing their efforts largely on a nearby wooded area.

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BELMONT, N.C. -- Police have found a missing Charlotte woman's car in Belmont, but officers say the woman is still missing.

Belmont Police Chief David James said Janet Simpson's GMC Envoy was located Thursday night in the parking lot of an old industrial mill off Parkdale Drive near the Catawba River.

Police were searching the area Friday. Boats from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and Charlotte Fire Department were searching the Catawba River as well.

A neighbor told NewsChannel 36 that the SUV had been in the parking lot since at least Wednesday.

Simpson was last seen Sunday, leaving the Liberty East Restaurant on East Independence Boulevard.

Mike Stephens, her ex-husband and a family friend, spoke with the media on Wednesday. He told NewsChannel 36 that Simpson was dating a Durham man and that customers heard her on the phone with the boyfriend while she was at the restaurant.

“She was paying her bill at that time and told him she would call him back when she got finished, but she had to go by the grocery store and pick up a couple things and that was pretty much the end. Nobody's heard from her since," Stephens said.

Simpson is described as 5-feet-3, 130 pounds. She has hazel eyes and brown hair.

If you have information on Simpson's whereabouts, call Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Missing Person Unit at 704-336-2311.

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Looks like they are also searching a body of water. There are some pictures here.http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Police-find-missing-womans-car-in-Belmont-111664704.html

Investigators are working a new lead that may explain how Janet Simpson's SUV wound up off a dead-end road near the Catawba River in Belmont.

Simpson vanished after having breakfast at a restaurant on East Independence Boulevard in Charlotte on Dec. 5.

Her GMC Envoy was found parked in the grass just off a parking lot of an old mill on Parkdale Avenue last Thursday night.

Investigators have been baffled since Simpson didn’t have an apparent connection to Belmont or someone who might know the remote area where the vehicle was found.

Now, NewsChannel 36 has learned that police are looking at some foreclosures Simpson was working on as a mortgage broker for Bank of Granite. Some of those foreclosures were contentious and one of those was in Belmont.

"They are investigating it and looking to see if there is any contact or connection with the case at all," said Belmont Police Chief David James.

James would not name the Belmont resident facing foreclosure or say if that person had had any prior contact with police.

He did say that it could explain how the SUV wound up in a remote area that is not well-traveled.

"If it can be linked, the foreclosure, with a person in the area where the vehicle was found, that would be helpful," James said.

NewsChannel 36 has also confirmed that the keys were missing from the SUV. However, Simpson's cell phone and purse were found inside and the purse contained cash.

James said that’s not the standard MO for a robbery.

"If it is a robbery motive they are going to take something they can get quick cash with and turn it over to buy something like drugs. It is just very unusual,” he said.

A spokesperson from Bank of Granite could not be reached for comment.

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Clothing found on body in river matches missing woman, sources say

Posted: Feb 23, 2011 10:07 AM
Updated: Feb 23, 2011 12:02 PM

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - A body was found floating along the Catawba River in west Charlotte Wednesday morning.

At this time, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has not confirmed if the body is that of a man or woman.

However, sources tell WBTV the body may be that of 56-year-old Janet Simpson who was reported missing in east Charlotte on Dec. 5.

Sources also tell us the clothing on the body matches items in which Simpson was wearing when she was reported missing.

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The body was only 3/4 mile from where her car was found in Dec.

Lisette you are so awesome. Thank you for letting us know she was found.

Thank you Lisette. This one had sure been a real mystery and I'm sad to know what the ending was.

We've all been wondering what happened to Janet. Thanks so much, Lisette, for getting the latest on her..as sad as it is.

Missing Charlotte woman’s body found in the Catawba River

Posted: Feb 23, 2011 10:07 AM
Updated: Feb 24, 2011 8:47 AM

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Police have confirmed a body found floating in the Catawba River in west Charlotte Wednesday morning is that of Janet Elizabeth Simpson who was reported missing in early December.

According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, a resident whose property line backs up to the river saw the body floating behind a home off Amos Smith Road around 9 a.m. This area is directly west of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.

Representatives from CMPD's Missing Persons Unit, Homicide Unit, and Belmont Police Department were called to the scene...

Police the medical examiner's office is trying to determine the cause of death.

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06/29/2011

Autopsy reveals Janet Simpson drowned in Catawba River

CHARLOTTE -- The autopsy for 56-year-old Janet Simpson reveals the cause of death as drowning, but does not indicate if it was suicide or murder. The autopsy was released Wednesday and lists the manner of death as undetermined.

Simpson was reported missing Dec. 6 after eating breakfast at the Liberty East restaurant on Independence Boulevard. Her body was found in the Catawba River Feb. 23.

According to the autopsy, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police suggested suicide, but the autopsy is listing the manner of death undetermined because there were no witnesses and Simpson never told anyone her intent.

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I never hear much about a drowning suicide unless they weight themselves down w/something. Cannot imagine NOT allowing myself to come up for air no matter how much I wanted to take my life. Maybe she drugged herself first?

Just thinking out loud. :scratch: