Gabriella Dawn Watkins, a 19-year-old from the Tappahannock area, was last seen on December 6, 2024, in the Placid Bay subdivision of Westmoreland County getting into a gray sedan with an unknown person. Raised by her grandparents and described as a lively presence who struggled with mental illness, she was a baby sister to four siblings and an aunt.

On January 28, 2025, human remains found on a large tract of land near Church Hill and Desha roads in Essex County were later identified as Gabriella’s. Some reports say the body had been dismembered. The remains were sent to the Chief Medical Examiner for determination of cause and manner of death.

Two arrests followed the discovery. Twenty-year-old Abraham Medina of Oak Grove was charged with transporting, secreting, concealing, or altering a dead body; additional charges were said to be pending. Thirty-five-year-old Phillip Owens of Colonial Beach was arrested on the same concealment charge and held without bond. The connection between Gabriella and the two men has not been disclosed.

Anyone who knew Gabriella or has information about her movements on December 6, 2024, or the area near Church Hill and Desha roads is asked to come forward.