Body Of Missing 15-Year-Old Girl Found In Wooded Area; Suspect Arrested

The body of a 15-year-old girl has been discovered in a wooded area in Tennessee, turning the case of a missing teenager into a homicide investigation.

A suspect, identified as Charles "Chuck" Carter, 63, has been arrested and is suspected of having raped and murdered her.

Olivia Daryl Taylor was reported missing by her parents at around 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris said investigators initially believed illegal drugs and individuals participating in criminal activities were involved in the teenager going missing, NewsChannel 5 Nashville reported.

Carter was arrested Wednesday night and charged with aggravated statutory rape in connection with the teenager's disappearance.

The search for Taylor took place through Wednesday night.

Putnam County Road Department employees then found Taylor's body in a "wooded area east of Cookeville" Thursday afternoon, the sheriff's office said, as per the outlet.

A medical examiner's office in Nashville will determine her cause of death, according to WSMV.

The 15-year-old victim was born and raised in Putnam County and is the youngest sibling of the family. A sophomore at Upperman High School, she dreamed of being a medic in the army someday, her family reportedly said.

The news of her death is "unimaginable," her mother, Stephanie Harness, told WKRN News 2.

"She's just my favorite person. She really was," the grieving mother added. "She's just so lovable. She just was, you know? Just something about her. She's just so easy to love. She just showed so much love."

Carter is being held without bond at the Putnam County Jail and is also a suspect in Taylor's murder, as the death is being treated as a homicide.

Meanwhile, the victim's family set up a GoFundMe page to help offset funeral expenses.

"No mother should have to worry about expenses after her child was taken like this," the page said.

An unrelated incident was reported earlier this month after a missing 12-year-old girl was found dead in a suitcase just hours after her parents reported her missing in Paris, France. The child, identified as Lola, was last seen entering her building with a woman believed to be in her 20s. The woman was later seen walking around in public with a heavy suitcase and stopping at a bakery to buy a croissant. The child's body was later found stacked in the suitcase with her throat slashed. Two numbers — 1 and 0 — were "placed" on her body, according to police.