Welcome to mcdowellnews.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

mcdowellnews.com - The McDowell News

HomeNewsEntertainmentSportsLifestylesOpinionCommunityWeather Online Tools Jobs | Real Estate | Shopping | Classified

After 7 years, McDowell woman will rest in peace

Family to bury remains of Joan Noblitt

By Richelle Bailey | The McDowell News

Published: April 30, 2009

After more than seven years of questions, searches and heartache, Joan Noblitt's family now has all the answers, remains and relief they need to lay her to rest.
Noblitt, 44, left her parents' home on Mack Noblitt Road in Old Fort on the morning of Jan. 7, 2002, never to be seen again by her loved ones. At the time she left, she had been diagnosed with a mental condition and was on medication.
The next 6 ½ years brought numerous tips and sights, both in and outside McDowell County and the state, and several searches.
Then, on Aug. 1 of last year, two 14-year-old boys playing in a densely wooded area across from their home on Hickory Nut Trace off Bethlehem Road came across a foreign object. It turned out to be a human skull.
A subsequent search of the area, as well as another one three months later, turned up many other bones and some clothing items, including a unique tennis shoe that Noblitt's family members identified as belonging to her.
The bones were sent to the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, where a missing person database is kept, according to Capt. Vic Hollifield of the McDowell County Sheriff's Office.
Hollifield previously stated that there was no doubt the remains were those of Noblitt and there was no question that she died from exposure to the extreme cold conditions, not from foul play.
In Texas, DNA from the bones was compared to DNA samples from Bud and Shirley Noblitt, Joan's parents. Scientists determined that the remains were "6 trillion times more likely" to be those of Joan that anyone else in the Caucasian population.
"We are going to be officially closing the case," Hollifield stated.
Shirley Noblitt reiterated that her daughter's death was not the result of foul play. The area where Joan's remains were discovered was only six-tenths of a mile from the Noblitt residence.
"She died of natural causes," Shirley stated. "It was really cold out the morning she left. Even though she was close by, it was not meant for her to be found. It was God's plan. It was just time for God to take her."
Services for Joan will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Kirksey Chapel in Old Fort. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow the funeral at Bethlehem Community Cemetery.
"We are going to have closure that we've not had before because we are finally going to get to lay her to rest," Shirley stated. "Even though we found her, that wasn't closure. … She will always be in our hearts and minds."
She expressed gratitude for all the assistance she and her family have received over the years.
"We appreciate the Sheriff's Office and everybody who has helped us," said Shirley. "We are so thankful for everything."
In addition to her parents, Joan leaves behind a brother, Tim, and two sisters, Kay Kee and Sabrina Higgins, as well as several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.