Sandra Grimes

Do you know who murdered Sandra K. Grimes in 1986?
In the autumn of 1986, Sandra K. Grimes was a 41-year-old African-American woman living in Charlotte, North Carolina. On the afternoon of Tuesday, October 21, she told her son she was heading out to a local store. It was a simple, everyday errand, but Sandra never came back. The following day, October 22, her son officially reported her missing, sparking a period of anxious uncertainty for her family. For just over two weeks, her whereabouts remained a mystery.

The search came to a tragic end on Thursday, November 6, 1986. A discovery was made in a wooded area near the 1500 block of Merriman Avenue, a street in the historic Wilmore neighborhood. The remains found there were soon identified as those of Sandra Grimes. Wilmore, one of Charlotte's first streetcar suburbs, was a community of tree-lined streets and Craftsman-style bungalows dating back to the early 20th century. The discovery of Sandra’s body in this quiet, residential area brought a wave of concern to the community and forever changed the lives of her loved ones.

The Charlotte Police Department, now the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), immediately opened a homicide investigation. Detectives processed the scene on Merriman Avenue, collecting evidence and trying to piece together a timeline of Sandra's last known movements. They knew she had left for a store on October 21, but the trail went cold after that. The two-and-a-half weeks between her disappearance and the discovery of her body left a critical gap in the investigation, making it difficult to find witnesses or trace her path.

Despite their efforts, the initial investigation did not lead to any arrests. The case gradually grew cold, joining the ranks of other unsolved homicides from a decade when crime rates were a growing concern in cities across the nation. For decades, Sandra's case has remained open, a source of unanswered questions and lingering pain for her family, especially the son who last saw her on that October afternoon.

Today, the investigation into Sandra Grimes's murder is in the hands of the CMPD's Cold Case Unit. This specialized team is tasked with re-examining unsolved homicides, hoping that new technologies, fresh eyes, or a long-overdue tip might finally break the silence. Detectives believe that someone, somewhere, holds information that could be the key to understanding what happened to Sandra in the fall of 1986. No detail is too small, and no memory is insignificant.

Decades have passed, but the pursuit of justice for Sandra Grimes continues. Her case, CMPD #1986-1106-173502, remains a priority for investigators who are determined to provide answers to her family. As of 2024, no suspects have been publicly named, and no arrests have been made. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and Crime Stoppers are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest in this case. They urge anyone with knowledge about Sandra's disappearance and death to come forward by calling the CMPD's Violent Crimes Division or the Crime Stoppers tip line.