Sheriff J.D. Oakes confirmed late yesterday that the woman whose body
was found lying near a driveway in the Paces community early Saturday
morning was that of Althea Ann Royal, a 47 year old Ringgold resident.
Oakes said her identity was confirmed by the State Medical Examiner's
Office using fingerprint information. He also said family members had
identified her from pictures provided by the State Medical Examiner's
Office. Oakes, who had on Saturday issued bulletins to surrounding law
enforcement agencies seeking missing person reports, said members of
the woman's family contacted Pittsylvania County law enforcement
officers to report her missing. Family members told officers they had
not seen nor heard from the woman since late Friday night.
The Sheriff said family members told officers that they had not
reported her missing because she often stayed at a residence in
Danville on Levelton Street rather than staying at her home on McCain
Drive in Ringgold. The cause of death was reported to be a single gun shot wound to the  head, and it was estimated that the woman was killed sometime between 1  and 2 a.m. Saturday. The woman's body was not spotted until a passerby  saw her lying beside Ashton Hall Road around 7:30 a.m. Saturday.