Elizabeth Marie Vanmeter was 21 and living in Mendota, Virginia, when she was killed on or around February 28, 2019. Adopted at age six, Marie had worked for a traveling carnival and met James Michael Wright there, where he ran the pony rides. Her family described her as loving and trusting, with a big personality, and said she had a mental disability.

Marie stopped communicating with her family, who were later told by police that she had been shot after an argument with Wright. Her body was found buried in a shallow grave near Wright’s residence in Mendota. Reports say investigators linked her death to two other women killed over an 18-day period.

Anyone who knew Marie, her movements in early 2019, or her time with the carnival is asked to come forward with information.