The Disappearance and Presumed Murder of Meta Valentine

 

Meta Valentine has been missing since October 28th, 2014. The then-42-year-old woman was last seen in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The last contact Meta had with her family members was on the evening of October 28th, when she spoke with her mother on the phone. According to her mother, Meta was "speaking in riddles" and was difficult to understand during their conversation. After they hung up, Meta was never seen or heard from again.

Meta was very involved in her local church and also very close to her family members. Meta's loved ones immediately began to worry when she did not show up to a planned family function or to her scheduled Bible study. It was uncharacteristic for Meta to skip out on events without telling anyone, and it was especially uncharacteristic for her to be out of touch with her children. Meta's family members reported her missing on October 30th.

Within weeks of the investigation, police identified Reginald McDowell as a person of interest in Meta's disappearance. Reginald is the father of one of Meta's three children, and he and Meta had an on-and-off relationship. Reginald has a history of violence, and their relationship has a rocky past. 

In 1999, while Meta was dating a different man, Reginald reportedly kidnapped, robbed, and shot at the couple. He was eventually arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree kidnapping and one count each of first-degree burglary and shooting into an occupied vehicle.

Reginald McDowell

In 2001, Reginald was sentenced to 15 years for those charges. However, he only ended up serving about 10 years and was released in 2011. Upon his release, Meta and Reginald renewed their romantic relationship. Their relationship lasted until October 11th, 2014, when Meta decided to break up with him. Their break-up occurred just two weeks before she vanished.

While police investigated Meta's disappearance, they looked at surveillance footage from her apartment building. Footage from the evening of October 28th, 2014 captured Meta walking towards her unit. Just a few seconds later, a man is seen running after her. Police immediately believed that the man in the footage was Reginald.

Police stated that Reginald initially cooperated with the investigation, but then he eventually stopped speaking with them. He continued to be the only suspect in the case. Finally, in 2018, police charged Reginald with first-degree kidnapping and murder in Meta's case. However, despite these charges, Reginald has still not been arrested. Police have not been unable to locate or contact Reginald since the charges were filed. It is believed that he is on the run.

There has been very little news on Meta's case since 2018. As of today, it appears that police are still seeking Reginald's whereabouts. Despite the murder charges, Meta's body has still not been found. 

If you have any information that could lead to Reginald's arrest or to Meta's whereabouts, place contact Fayetteville authorities at (910) 549-7326.

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Sources:
ABC 11, (2)
Charley Project