In the spring of 2019, 43-year-old Aaron Lee Wood vanished from Tobaccoville, North Carolina. He had been staying with a friend part-time in the area and also living out of his gray 2002 Dodge Caravan. As a construction worker, it wasn't out of the ordinary for him to travel for work, but it was highly unusual for him to be out of contact with his friends and family for an extended period. Concern grew as days turned into weeks, and then months, with no word from Aaron.
The last confirmed communication from him was in April of 2019.
More than a year after he was last heard from, in July 2020, the Winston-Salem Police Department began investigating his disappearance. As the investigation progressed, it shifted from a missing person case to a homicide investigation in July 2021, as evidence suggested that Aaron's disappearance was not voluntary and that he was likely deceased. Investigators received information that led them to believe he had been killed and buried on a property located at 400 Everidge Road in Winston-Salem, where he had been working. This property was a former horse farm.
In June of 2023, after days of extensive digging on the Everidge Road property, authorities discovered human remains. The excavation was a collaborative effort involving the Winston-Salem Police Department, Dr. Ann Ross from North Carolina State University, the North Carolina Medical Examiner's Office, and the City of Winston-Salem's field operations and utilities division. Two weeks after the discovery, the remains were positively identified as those of Aaron Lee Wood. Following the identification, Kenneth Evan Cox was arrested and charged in connection with Aaron's death. The discovery of his remains, while heartbreaking for his loved ones, brought an end to years of uncertainty about his whereabouts and offered the first steps toward justice. The case, which began as a man who had simply vanished, concluded with the grim reality that he had been the victim of a homicide.Last Seen: Apr 1, 2019
