The Disappearance of Sara Nicole Graham
A Van in a Wheat Field and a Decade of Questions
On the morning of February 4, 2015, an 18-year-old woman named Sara Nicole Graham left her home in Fairmont, North Carolina, to go to work. She never arrived.
Hours later, her father’s white Chevrolet Astro van was found abandoned in a wheat field off East McDonald Road. The vehicle was locked. Undamaged. Quietly parked where it didn’t belong.
Sara was gone.
Nearly eleven years later, her disappearance remains one of the most troubling unsolved cases in Robeson County—and a stark example of the ongoing crisis surrounding Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
Who Was Sara Nicole Graham?
Sara Nicole Graham was a young Lumbee woman standing at the threshold of adulthood.
She had recently moved back to North Carolina after graduating high school in Texas, settling into life with her father and stepmother in Fairmont. She had just started a new job at the Walmart in Pembroke, working as a cashier and greeter—proud of her independence and excited about what came next.
Friends and family describe Sara as kind, shy at first but warm once you knew her, dependable, and responsible. She wasn’t someone who disappeared without telling people where she was going. She had routines, responsibilities, and plans.
There was no indication she intended to leave her life behind.
The Morning She Vanished
Sara left home around 6:30 a.m. on February 4, 2015, heading to work for a 7:00 a.m. shift. Somewhere along the way, something went wrong.
By approximately 6:45 a.m., witnesses later reported seeing the van parked in a wheat field off East McDonald Road—a rural area not directly along her usual route.
The van remained there for hours before being reported around noon.
When authorities arrived, they found:
- The van locked
- No visible damage
- No signs of a struggle
- No explanation for why it was there
Sara herself was nowhere to be found.
The Search for Sara
Once Sara was reported missing, law enforcement and the community mobilized quickly. Local police, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI launched searches involving K-9 units, helicopters, and more than 140 volunteers.
Fields, woods, and surrounding areas were combed extensively.
No trace of Sara was ever found.
As days turned into weeks, investigators publicly stated that there was no evidence Sara had run away. She had left behind a life she was actively building.
That raised a more frightening possibility: someone else was involved.
Investigation and Complications
Sara’s case quickly drew attention due to her family’s ties to law enforcement.
Her father, Hubert Graham, worked in law enforcement and later became police chief in Rowland, North Carolina. Her stepmother, Connie Graham, was a deputy with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office at the time of Sara’s disappearance.
Six weeks after Sara vanished, Connie Graham was fired from her position. Officials later stated her termination was unrelated to Sara’s case, but speculation spread in the absence of answers.
The FBI became actively involved, offering a reward and conducting extensive interviews. In a later public appeal, FBI agents stated they believed someone close to Sara was not telling everything they knew—a statement that continues to haunt the case.
Despite renewed searches and anniversary appeals, no arrests have been made and no remains have been recovered.
MMIW and the Bigger Picture
Sara Nicole Graham’s disappearance is not an isolated tragedy.
North Carolina has one of the largest Indigenous populations east of the Mississippi, including the Lumbee Tribe. Over the past several decades, more than 100 cases involving missing or murdered Indigenous people have been documented in the state—most of them women and girls.
Nationally, Indigenous women experience homicide and disappearance rates far higher than the general population, yet their cases often receive less media coverage and fewer resources.
Sara’s case has become part of the broader MMIW movement, with advocates and community members continuing to share her story at vigils, online, and through awareness campaigns.
Her name is spoken alongside many others—women whose stories deserve answers.
Where the Case Stands Today
As of today, Sara Nicole Graham has never been found.
Her case remains open and active. Law enforcement continues to request information, emphasizing that even small details could make a difference.
Sara would be in her late twenties now.
Somewhere, someone knows what happened to her.
How You Can Help
If you have any information about Sara Nicole Graham’s disappearance, please contact:
- Robeson County Sheriff’s Office: (910) 671-3100
- FBI Charlotte Field Office: (704) 672-6100
You may remain anonymous.
If you do not have direct information, you can still help by:
- Sharing Sara’s story
- Supporting organizations that advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
- Talking about her case to keep public attention alive
Silence allows cases like Sara’s to fade. Awareness keeps them alive.
Sara Nicole Graham mattered.
She still does.
And until her story has an ending, we will continue to tell it.
Have thoughts on this story or other cases you’d like to see highlighted? Share them with us in the comments or connect with us on social media. Together, we can ensure that stories like this one are never forgotten.
Don’t forget to follow us on social media, @VanishedVoicesPod, share your thoughts, and let us know what you’d like to hear about in future episodes. If you have any true crime stories of your own, send them our way Vanishedvoicespodcast@gmail.com to be featured on a future episode! And as always, Refuse to let these voices vanish. See you in the next episode of Vanished Voices!
Resources & References
Primary Case Coverage & Law Enforcement Statements
FBI Charlotte Field Office. (2022). Have you seen Sara Nicole Graham? [Video]. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
FBI.gov
Robeson County Sheriff’s Office. (2015–present). Missing person case: Sara Nicole Graham. Robeson County, NC.
Stein, J. (2025, May 5). Governor proclaims Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Office of the Governor of North Carolina. https://governor.nc.gov
WMBF News Staff. (2025, June 2). ‘Justice for Sara’: NC deputies, FBI conduct new searches in decade-old missing person’s case. WMBF News.
https://www.wmbfnews.com
Associated Press. (2015, March 27). Missing girl’s stepmom fired as Robeson sheriff’s detective. WMBF News (repost of JDNews story). https://www.wmbfnews.com
Brown, T. (2025, February 4). Deputies discuss 10-year cold case of young missing woman Sara Graham. ABC News 4.
https://abcnews4.com
WPDE. (2025, February 4). NC deputies discuss 10-year anniversary of missing woman Sara Graham [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com
WBTW. (2025). Searchers fan out across Robeson County Monday as part of Sara Graham investigation. WBTW.
https://www.wbtw.com
WPDE News. (2022, February). Father of missing North Carolina teen speaks out years later.
https://wpde.com
WRAL News. (2015). 18-year-old woman missing after van found abandoned in Robeson County.
https://www.wral.com
WMBF News. (2015). Search continues for missing Fairmont teen.
https://www.wmbfnews.com
Background & Timeline Sources
NamUs. (n.d.). Missing Person: Sara Nicole Graham. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, U.S. Department of Justice.
https://www.namus.gov
Charley Project. (n.d.). Sara Nicole Graham.
https://charleyproject.org
MMIW Context & Indigenous Advocacy
U.S. Department of Justice. (2021). Missing and murdered indigenous persons: Federal response and data.
https://www.justice.gov
National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. (n.d.). MMIW: Crisis overview and statistics.
https://www.niwrc.org
Urban Indian Health Institute. (2018). Missing and murdered Indigenous women & girls: A snapshot of data.
https://www.uihi.org
Community & Awareness Efforts
Women Advancing NC. (n.d.). MMIW awareness and advocacy initiatives.
https://www.womenadvancingnc.org
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. (n.d.). Community statements and advocacy efforts.
https://www.lumbeetribe.com
Tip Lines & Official Contacts
Robeson County Sheriff’s Office
📞 (910) 671-3100
FBI Charlotte Field Office
📞 (704) 672-6100