Authorities said yesterday they believe that a woman who has been the focus of an extensive search in Seven Devils is likely dead.
Deana Elizabeth Schermerhorn, 41, was last seen by family on Nov. 8 at her Seven Devils home.
Her 4-year-old son was returned to her family about four or five days after she disappeared, said Chief Chuck Davis of the Seven Devils Public Safety Dept.
He declined to say who returned the child, but said authorities want to talk to Schermerhorn's husband, Christopher Warren Meade, 26.
The family moved to Seven Devils after their home in neighboring Caldwell County burned down, Davis said. Authorities in Caldwell County said the fire happened on Oct. 2, but they would not release any information about it because the fire is under investigation.
Tax records show that Schermerhorn was the sole owner of the Caldwell County home.
The couple had lived in the Seven Devils home only about a week before Schermerhorn disappeared, Davis said. Few people in the resort community knew them.
Davis said family members believe that Schermerhorn would not have left her child.
There is also other evidence that makes authorities believe she is dead, he said, but declined to say what it is.
There's been no trace of her since she disappeared.
"We've looked everywhere for her, checked financial records," Davis said. "There's no sign. She's not done anything."
They do have evidence that Meade has been active, although authorities declined to say what that evidence is.
More than 40 officers from various agencies, as well as a search dog, combed the woods, roads and trails near the house last Friday as a state Highway Patrol helicopter crew searched from overhead.
The State Bureau of Investigations is also investigating the case.
Court records show that Meade was arrested Feb. 26 for assault on a female in Caldwell County. The case was dismissed by the court in May, although the records don't indicate why.
If she is still alive, authorities say, Schermerhorn may be with Meade, who drives a maroon 1999 Oldsmobile Bravada, a four-door SUV, with license tag YXR-4449.
Schermerhorn is about 5 feet, 2 inches tall and has blond hair, blue eyes and a slim build.
Meade, 26, is about 5-feet, 7-inches tall, with brown hair and brown eyes. They both have contacts in Watauga and Caldwell counties, as well as eastern Tennessee and Bristol, Va.
Anyone with information about the case can call the Seven Devils Public Safety Dept. at 828-963-6760 or SBI Special Agent Wade Colvard at 828-294-2226.
mmitchell@wsjournal.com
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