Robeson County woman declared dead by judge after 2015 disappearance

A woman who went missing in 2015 in Robeson County was legally declared dead on Monday.

Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said a Robeson County superior court judge ruled 18-year-old Sara Graham dead.

This is according to a statute that establishes a missing person may be presumed dead if they have been absent from their last known residence and unheard from for a continuous period of seven years.

Graham was last seen around 6:30 a.m. at her home on Centerville Church Road in Fairmont on Feb. 4, 2015. She never arrived at her job at Walmart in Pembroke.

In February 2015, authorities found Graham’s white van on McDonald Road in Fairmont, but she was nowhere to be found.

Wilkins said in a statement that the announcement does not alter the sheriff’s department's search for Sara, but it expands the search from a missing person to a homicide investigation.

“We continue to use every available investigative method, technology, and resource to search for Sara,” Wilkins’ statement read in part.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Robeson County Sheriff's Office at 910-671-3100, the FBI at 1-800-225-5324 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the location of Sara Nicole Graham.