HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — Orange County deputies are seeking a juvenile petition against a 17-year-old who is facing charges of two counts of first-degree murder after two bodies were found off Buckhorn Road in Hillsborough.
Deputies announced Tuesday afternoon, the investigation led authorities to seek the petition.
The bodies of 18-year-old Devin Clark and 14-year-old Lyric Woods were found Sunday.
Family members confirmed Monday one of the victims was Clark, an Eastern Alamance High School student and football player.
Officials have identified the other victim as Woods.
We received the missing person report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for 14-year-old Lyric Woods, stating she was last seen Friday night at 11 pm at her home in Efland and was reported missing on Saturday.
"Through the hard work of my investigators, along with the help of personnel from many other law enforcement agencies, we have identified a suspect in this case," Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said. "We will now work with local, state, and federal authorities to apprehend and present the suspect to the court system."
Woods’ mother and stepfather, Elizabeth and Shane Cannada, said Woods never ran away before.
K-9 units were called in, using the scent of Woods’ pillow to help them search.
A drone was also used to search the woods surrounding the Cannada’s home.
Officers searched Woods’ bedroom and found that the only thing missing was an Ipad.
Woods’ stepfather told investigators that it is believed that Woods left the home through the back door. A neighbor told investigators that they saw a car around 3 am Saturday, coming down the road.
The K-9 used in the search suggested Woods did in fact get into a car.
Family members also confirm that Devin and Lyric got into the car with someone else that night. Woods’ stepfather turned over an iPhone, iPad, and laptop to assist in the investigation.
At this time, Lyric Woods’ family is offering a reward for further information in this case.
We also received the missing person report from the Mebane Police Department for 18-year-old Devin Clark.
The report said Clark was last seen Friday at 11 pm at his home in Mebane and was reported missing on Sunday.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said there is no suspect in custody and no updates on this case at this time. The office is still awaiting ID and cause of death from the medical examiner's office.
They said there is no trail camera footage of the murders or of the murder scene.
The men who found the bodies off Buck Horn Road were on their way to check their trail cameras when they happened upon the bodies. The bodies were found around 2 and a half miles from Woods' home.
Investigators said the cameras themselves are a ways away from where the bodies were found.
Devin’s mother told WFMY he didn’t drive and didn’t have a car of his own.
A balloon release was held Monday night in honor of Devin Clark.
We reached out to Orange County Schools about a potential memorial service and were sent this statement:
"There are no plans at this time for a balloon release at Cedar Ridge High School or anything similar sanctioned by CRHS or Orange County Schools. Some CRHS volleyball team members played with Lyric Woods in middle school or travel ball, and they have announced they are playing two games this week - one away, one at home - in Lyric's honor. Beyond that, we don't have further details at this time."
According to law officials, although the 17-year-old suspect won’t automatically be charged in the adult criminal justice system, this does not mean the suspect won’t be tried as an adult.
It will be up to a judge to move the case from juvenile court to adult criminal court.