Tyler Gilbert was 16 when he and his 19-year-old brother Deandre were reported missing on May 15, 2016, after last being seen in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The brothers’ bodies were discovered three days later, on May 18, 2016, in a rural area of Onslow County near a dirt road and in the woods. Tyler’s death was ruled a gunshot wound to the head; Deandre’s autopsy was pending in early reports. Deandre’s 2002 Hyundai was found burned nearby.

Authorities treated the deaths as homicides and named 23-year-old Steven McCarty as a person of interest; he was later arrested on an unrelated probation violation. Court testimony during later proceedings linked the killings to drugs or gang activity and referenced a gun Deandre had purchased shortly before the brothers were killed. Tyler’s death remains part of a case that had a profound effect on the community.

If anyone knew Tyler or Deandre, or saw them in Jacksonville in mid-May 2016, please share what you remember.