news-record.com

ROCKY MOUNT (AP) — The FBI is joining the investigation of the deaths of five Rocky Mount women whose bodies were found in the same rural area.

"It is methodically going through tips and information that we hope will lead us to the right person," Rocky Mount Police Chief John Manley told Raleigh's WRAL-TV on Sunday.

The bodies of Joarniece Latonya Hargrove, 31, and Jackie Nikelia Thorpe, 35, were found in a field between Battleboro and Whitakers in Edgecombe County. Also found in the same area were the bodies of Ernestine Battle, 50; Melody LaShae Wiggins, 29; and Taraha Shenice Nicholson, 28.

A sixth body found in February has yet to be identified, and three other women with similar descriptions and backgrounds are missing.

Also working on the case are the Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office, Rocky Mount Police Department and State Bureau of Investigation. Manley said the Edgecombe County District Attorney's Office also is helping.

Meanwhile, 35 people participated in a bike ride Sunday to raise money for billboards about the deaths. The bikers rode past the rural area where the bodies were found.

"It was somebody's daughter, somebody's sister, somebody's mother. So it could be you, and you would want someone to help you out," biker Terrance Dickens said.

Also, relatives of some of the victims have organized a group called Missing or Murdered Sisters that hopes to draw attention to the women's deaths.

"It's so hard, God knows it is. I stay in prayer. That's what helps keep me going," said Diana Nicholson, mother of Taraha Shenice Nicholson.

The money raised by the bike ride will be combined with money that MOMS raised the weekend before. So far, $816 of the $1,300 needed for the billboards has been raised.