Erica Hunt: Missing Woman’s Remains Identified Through DNA
Months ago, I covered the story of Erica Hunt who was last seen on July 3, 2016, at a relative’s house in Opelousas, Lousiana. She was enjoying time with family members, including her young daughter, and was looking forward to her 21st birthday. Erica reportedly left her two-year-old daughter with relatives for the evening and planned on picking her up the next day to take a day trip to the lake with friends, but she never arrived. Recently, there was a break in her case.
For almost five years, Erica Hunt remained a missing person, but recently, it was shared that the 20-year-old’s remains have been identified through DNA testing. Back in 2018, a team of volunteers was searching for a missing boy when they just happened to stumble across a human skull under a shed in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana.
The LSU FACES Lab and the DNA Doe Project partnered in the quest of identifying the skeletal remains—a long process that hopefully, though sorrowful, gives Erica’s family some answers. Now, investigators are trying to piece together what exactly happened to Erica Hunt. It’s reported that her death is being investigated as a homicide, and authorities are asking the public to come forward with any information, no matter how insignificant, to help bring closure to this case.
“She was always smiling and she just loved being around family and friends,” Shantashia Isaac, Erica’s sister, told Dateline in July 2020. “And we were as close as sisters could be. I mean, of course, we fought like crazy. But we could be arguing and then if something happened and I needed her, it didn’t matter, she would be right by my side to help me. That’s who she was.”
Anyone with information about this case is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 948-TIPS or text “TIPS 6-2-5” and the tip to CRIMES.
Please share this story about Erica Hunt to help her family receive their desired answers. She was our sister, and her life matters.
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