Investigators looking into a cold case homicide believe that investigators may have wrongly accused a truck driver of murdering a young woman in Georgia more than a decade ago.
The woman, 27-year-old Melissa McCarthy, also known as Melissa McCarthy Comiskey, was found by a truck driver who stopped for a bathroom break and tire repair according to the Florida Times-Union on November 30th, 2011 in the woodline of the Interstate 95 ramp at exit 14 in Camden County, Georgia.
According to First Coast News, McCarthy had been working as a prostitute in Pompano Beach in Florida, and investigators in 2011 were told by her former pimp that “they saw her get into a red and white semi truck on the night that she disappeared,” said Investigator Nathan Daniel, who has reopened the case. Daniel says that, because of the red and white semi truck story, investigators back in 2011 leaned toward the theory that McCarthy was murdered by a truck driver, but he believes that going off of information from Mccarthy’s pimp isn’t necessarily the best way to go. Daniel also points out that the tire tracks leading away from the site where McCarthy was found were not those of a semi truck.
In addition to the mismatched tire tracks, Daniel believes that McCarthy’s phone records reveal an important clue in the case. A 904 area code telephone number connected to a Florida resident had been calling McCarthy’s phone prior to her death.
“When they did a satellite tracking on the towers they did find out that the individual that did live in the St Mary’s area was in the Pompano area, 6.7 miles away from where Melissa McCarthy was working before she disappeared,” explains Daniel. Investigators in 2011 did speak to the person behind that phone call and discovered that the phone belonged to a woman who was apparently dating the same man as McCarthy. That man was the one who had made the calls to McCarthy on the 904 phone number. Daniel says that the couple was interviewed by investigators at the time, but that they did not pursue to issue further. The couple moved away shortly after their contact with police, which Daniel says is suspicious.
“There’s so many missing details in this case,” says Investigator Daniel,” What I want to do is re-interview everyone who was interviewed in 2011.”
Although a specific truck driver was never accused of the incident and an arrest was never made, Daniel believes that previous investigators’ conclusion that the murder was conducted by a truck driver could be incorrect. He believes that an investigation into the apparent love triangle is crucial to cracking the case.
If you can provide any information to help close this cold case, call the Camden County Sheriff’s Office at (912) 510-5100 or the Camden County CrimeLine at 912-510-5163.