CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — Catawba County sheriff’s investigators found the body of a deceased woman in a wooded area of northeastern Catawba County on Friday and later identified her as missing Hickory woman Robin Doyle.
Earlier in the day, Catawba County sheriff’s deputies were searching the Catawba River below the Oxford Dam in connection with the possible kidnapping of Doyle.
Investigators have identified 54-year-old Leroy Loper as a suspect in Doyle’s disappearance on Friday. Before, he was only a person of interest in what authorities said was a kidnapping. The missing persons’ case turned into a homicide investigation.
The search focused on the area near Oxford Dam on Friday because investigators believed Loper, a former co-worker of Doyle, was familiar with the area and had led authorities to a neighborhood north of Claremont where her body was found off the roadway about 25 feet into the woods.
“It tragic,” Catawba County Sheriff Don Brown said. “Something like this is just pure evil and people like this are going to be held accountable.”
Loper had failed to register as a sex offender.
He went to the sheriff’s office Tuesday at 9 a.m. to let them know he was moving out of the area to Surry County, the same morning Doyle was reported missing.
After the discovery on Friday, Loper was charged with murder, first-degree kidnapping, and concealing a body, and was given no bond.
Vanished
Search warrants indicate that investigators discovered a bra and zip-ties in the yard of Doyle’s home. Matching zip-ties were also recovered from a red Kia Optima driven by Loper.
Doyle was last seen at her home in Hickory. Her father reported that when he woke up on Tuesday morning, Doyle was missing but her vehicle remained in the driveway.
He discovered the back door to the residence was open and observed that retaining wall blocks had been moved along the walkway.
Investigators utilized a Flock camera in the area to identify a 2015 red Kia Optima and its license tag. This technology led authorities to a mobile home in Surry County that Leroy Loper was renting.
Neighbors provided video to Channel 9 reporter Dave Faherty showing Loper being taken into custody at that location on unrelated charges.
Surry County is located approximately 60 miles away from the home where Doyle was last seen.
Loper is a registered sex offender with a history of felony convictions. His record includes a conviction for a second-degree forcible sexual offense and a previous arrest for first-degree kidnapping. Loper has also been charged twice in Catawba County for failing to register as a sex offender.
Witnesses and area surveillance cameras recorded a red car leaving Doyle’s neighborhood at a high rate of speed early Tuesday morning. Although investigators located Loper’s vehicle and searched the residence in Surry County, officials confirmed they did not find Doyle at that location. Investigators believe Loper is familiar with the area near the Oxford Dam because he previously lived nearby.
Before Doyle’s body was discovered, Loper was being held at the Catawba County Detention Facility on a $200,000 secured bond. Investigators are asking anyone who may have seen or interacted with Loper in Catawba County, Surry County or any points in between from July 27 through July 29 to contact the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.