ANSON COUNTY, N.C. — A young girl was found dead at a psychiatric facility in Anson County and now local police, and the state are trying to uncover what happened.
This comes less than two months after three girls escaped from the Cornerstone Treatment Facility in Wadesboro.
Now, some in the community have told Channel 9’s Gina Esposito the facility must close.
A former employee told Esposito that her job was to keep the girls at the facility safe but claims she wasn’t fully trained to handle their mental health challenges.
Esposito was told the facility is doing more harm than good.
“It is, it’s heartbreaking,” said Miriam “Meme” Liles, community advocate, mental health worker. “It’s like anguish there because it involves a child.”
Liles wants answers after the child’s body was discovered.
“I don’t believe anybody placed people in these facilities with the expectation of hearing that their child or their adult is dead within the facility,” Liles said.
In January, Cornerstone said three girls hatched an elaborate plan to escape. A man is facing kidnapping charges after police found the girls in other counties.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services investigated the incident and released a report in February.
Multiple clients had a “history of elopement” and there “were no goals and strategies” to address it,” the report said. “This deficiency constitutes a Type A1 rule violation for serious neglect and must be corrected within 23 days.”
A former employee, who didn’t want to be identified, told Esposito that overnight staff are supposed to check on residents every 15 minutes.
“Work wasn’t done as it was supposed to be done,” the former employee said.
She told Esposito that it didn’t happen, and notes were fabricated when she was there.
The former employee said she quit after witnessing one of the girls showing suicidal behavior.
“I don’t think that I was trained ... like I was supposed to, to be able to handle the situation, which was my breaking point,” she said.
She believes Sunday’s death could’ve been prevented.
“I think they just failed her,” the former employee said.
The woman said she wants to see the facility close.
“I just feel like it’s just not equipped,” she said. “The people are not trained, and I just wish that they could just get help from somewhere that is better suited for their condition.”
The district attorney told Esposito she is looking into what may have led up to a child losing their life.
She said it’s possible charges could be filed if there was evidence of negligence at the facility.
Esposito contacted Cornerstone officials Tuesday to see what they have to say, but she has not heard back.
VIDEO: Wadesboro’s interim police chief says priority is to hire more officers
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
