HEATHER CATTERTON - 17 yo - Clover/Gastonia NC

Police have identified the body found near Clover last week as that of a 17-year-old girl from Gastonia, N.C.The
body, found Thursday on Robinson Road, has been identified as that of
Heather Marie Catterton, York County Sheriff's Office Capt. Jerry
Hoffman said Monday.

The cause of death has not been released, pending
final autopsy results. Police Friday released photos of
clothing found on and around Catterton's body in an effort to identify
her. A family member from Clover notified police that the body might be
Catterton, Hoffman said. She had not been reported missing.

Authorities confirmed Catterton's identity using fingerprints.Police
would not say whether she died on Robinson Road. However, they said the
body was probably there more than 24 hours but less than 72 hours
before it was discovered.“We haven't determined if she was
killed where the body was found,” Hoffman said. “… Part of the reason
we need to speak to anyone who has any information to piece together
these questions.”York County sheriff's deputies are investigating the case as a homicide.The
body was found off a dirt road that connects with Crowders Creek Road
in Gaston County, Hoffman said. She was found between two large culvert
pipes – not in the water or inside the pipes. Police are asking
for more information about Catterton, whose last known address is 2402
South York Road in Gastonia. She lived with her father, but was not
living there all the time, Hoffman said. She was not in school. “Now
we're reaching out to the public for anyone who can tell us the
whereabouts of Heather between Oct. 18 and 28,” Hoffman said. “We want
any information about her, period. Friends. People she came in contact
with. Places she would frequent…”Investigators also are looking
for information on two suspicious vehicles. One was a red, Ford F-150
pickup with tinted windows and a flat liner bed cover. It was seen in
the area of Robinson Road between noon and 1 p.m. Oct. 27. The
second vehicle is a two-tone Chevy S-10 pickup with a blue top and tan
bottom, possibly a 1987 to 1990 model. It was seen in the Robinson Road
area on Oct. 25 or Oct. 26 between 9 and 10 p.m.About five
houses are located on the mile and a half dirt road where the body was
found. A woman who lives along the road said that her neighbor spotted the body while out riding his
four-wheeler and called police.Catterton was wearing only socks,
a sweatshirt and a necklace when officers found her body, Hoffman said.
The other clothing items were found about a mile and a half away, over
the South Crowder's Creek Bridge on Crowder's Creek Road. Investigators
are also interested in any suspicious activity seen in that area.Police would not comment on whether she was a victim of sexual assault.Catterton
was released from jail Oct. 8, North Carolina records show. She has
been charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute,
possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and identity theft,
background checks show. Some of those charges were still pending at the
time of her death. She does not have a criminal record in York County, Hoffman said.Anyone
with any information is asked to contact the York County Sheriff's
Office at 803-628-3059, or CrimeStoppers at 877-409-4321.

A female body found last week in York County, S.C., was that of a
17-year-old from Gastonia, the York County Sheriff's Office said Monday.
The victim was Heather Marie Catterton, the Sheriff's Office said, adding that a tip had helped in the identification.
Catterton was released from prison on a drug conviction less than three weeks before she died, according to N.C. court records.
The
Sheriff's Office released photos over the weekend of clothing found
near the body, which was discovered Thursday off Robinson Yelton Road,
near the state line. Investigators said Monday that someone who saw the
photos supplied information that helped them make the identification.
Deputies
said the teen's body was at the site for 24 to 72 hours. They did not
give the cause of death but said the case is being investigated as a
homicide.
Catterton was not enrolled in school, authorities said.
Court
records showed she had been arrested a number of times, mostly on
drug-related charges. She was convicted in February of possession of
drug paraphernalia. She served about three months of a six-month jail
sentence, according to court records.
The Sheriff's Office
said it also has received tips about two vehicles seen last week in the
area near where the teen's body was found. Both were trucks - a red
Ford F-150 pickup with tinted windows, and a blue and tan Chevrolet
S-10 pickup. The S-10 was an older model, dating back to the late 1980s.
The
(Rock Hill) Herald reported that the Ford truck was seen in the area
between noon and 1 p.m. Oct. 27. The S-10 was seen in the area between
9 and 10 p.m. Oct. 25 or 26, the Herald reported.
Anyone
with information in the case is asked to contact Crime Stoppers,
877-409-4321, or the York County Sheriff's office, 803-628-3059.

Nick Catterton is convinced that someday, he’ll know who killed his daughter. He’s not sure he’ll ever know why.
“She didn’t deserve to die the way she did,” said Catterton.
“Whoever done this couldn’t have been in their right state of mind.
They had to be some kind of monster, a maniac.”

Sheriff’s deputies in York County, S.C., announced Monday that a
young woman’s body found on a dirt road last week was that of
17-year-old Heather Marie Catterton. The teen lived with her family in
Gastonia but frequently stayed with friends for weeks at a time.
Heather’s death is being investigated as a homicide, but authorities
have not released the cause of her death. She was found wearing only a
hooded sweatshirt, a necklace and a pair of toe socks. Deputies
wouldn’t say whether she had been sexually assaulted.
Catterton said his daughter was not attending school, and he was
encouraging her to study for a GED. Heather had several drug arrests in
Gaston County — her dad said she had befriended the wrong people, but
she was trying to move past her mistakes.
“She’s always been a good girl,” Catterton said. “She just got those
teenage genes in her. Teenagers nowadays think they can do anything and
they’re all grown up.”
Heather spent much of her young life in Cleveland County. She was a
popular girl with dozens of friends and a permanent smile, said her
brother, Barry Holland.
“She was a joyful person,” Holland said. “She was high-spirited. She
got along with everyone, and everyone liked her. She always had a smile
on her face.”
Heather’s body was found between culverts on Robinson Yelton Road
outside Clover, S.C. Some of her clothing was discovered on Crowders
Creek Road in Gaston County.
Catterton said his sister recognized Heather’s Hollister sweatshirt
from a television newscast. Deputies had released photos of clothing
and jewelry found on the body in order to identify the victim.
Self-aware and strong, Heather would have likely tried to fight off her attacker and escape, Catterton said.
“She was a very smart girl — she was street smart,” he said. “That’s
what made me think that couldn’t be her, because at the first sign of
trouble, as soon as the opportunity hit, she would have run like a
rabbit. She would have done something.”
Catterton believes the York County Sheriff’s Office will uncover the
truth about what happened to his daughter. Sheriff’s investigators
interviewed his family and spoke to about 35 others on Monday, he said.
Deputies are looking for anyone who knows where Catterton was
between Oct. 18 — the last day family and friends reported seeing her —
and Oct. 28 — the day before her body was found.
“We need to know who she was with, who she was talking to, where she
was going,” said York County Sheriff’s Capt. Jerry Hoffman. “The closer
we can get to her time of death, that’s going to be crucial to us.”
Hoffman told The Gazette Heather’s body had been on Robinson
Yelton Road for one to three days, but he wouldn’t say whether
investigators believe she was killed there or her body had been dumped.
The Sheriff’s Office is also seeking information about two pickup
trucks spotted near the crime scene. The first, a red Ford F-150 with
tinted windows and a flat bed cover, was seen in the area of Robinson
Yelton Road between noon and 1 p.m. Oct. 27. The driver was a white
man, and a white woman was reported in the passenger seat.
The other truck is a Chevrolet S-10 with a two-tone custom paint job
— blue on top and tan on the bottom. It’s believed to be a 1987 to 1990
model and was last seen in the area between 9 and 10 p.m. Oct. 25 or
Oct. 26.
Anyone with information on Heather’s whereabouts or on either truck
is asked to call the York County Sheriff’s Office at 803-628-3059 or
Crime Stoppers at 877-409-4321.
As he prepares to bury his youngest daughter, Catterton knows he would have sacrificed his own life to protect her.
“I would definitely trade places with her,” he said. “Anybody would for their kid that they love. It just breaks our hearts.”
Heather’s dad is also asking anyone involved in the girl’s death to cooperate with investigators.
“Please come forward and give peace of mind to everyone who loves
her,” Catterton said. “Whoever it is, they’re going to catch you
anyway.”

The 17-year-old was a “runner.” Sometimes she would go missing for weeks at a time.
With book and streets smart, Heather Marie Catterton’s academic life
soared at one point when she attended Shelby Middle School. But it
didn’t last.
Catterton was found dead Oct. 29 near a small bridge on Robinson Yelton Road outside Clover, S.C.
The teen was found unclothed from the waist down, wearing only a
hooded sweatshirt, socks and necklace, according to the York County
Sheriff’s Office. The office has declined to say how she died. Her
death is being investigated as a homicide.
Although Catterton’s life was cut short, many who knew the teen said
she always wore a smile and would do anything to help the people she
cared about.
Another life
Catterton lived in and out of foster and group homes for more than
five years of her life. She often left the homes by running away.
Cleveland County Department of Social Services took over custody of Catterton years ago, according to her biological family.
“They would say activity has gone on,” said her father, Nick Catterton.
One night at their previous home in Grover a shot was fired and
Catterton was placed in DSS care over child endangerment concerns, her
father said.
Social services had released her from its custody about a year ago, family said.
“They couldn’t control her from running away from these homes,” Nick Catterton said of his daughter’s foster and group homes.
Catterton called his daughter a “daddy’s girl.” She got into trouble because of her “free-spirited” nature, he said.
Silent cries
According to the National Runaway Switchboard, between 1.6 million and 2.8 million youths run away from home each year.
“It’s alarming,” said Maureen Blaha, a national children’s expert
and executive director of National Runaway Switchboard centered in
Chicago. “It’s a silent crisis in this country. The public needs to
realize we have a serious problem in this country that needs their
attention.”
The organization serves as the federally designated national
communication system for homeless and runaway youth. The hotline
handles more than 100,000 calls each year.
Fifty percent of their calls are from youth who have already left
their homes, while the other half is from parents dealing with a crisis
and looking for support, Blaha said.
Statistics indicate family dynamic issues are the No. 1 reason youth
call the switchboard, Blaha said. Those problems range from inability
to cope with current family struggles, wanting to flee the situation
making them feel upset or trying to fit into a new family structure.
“They don’t know how to cope and may flee,” Blaha said.
Runaways
Catterton was reported missing at least five times in one year.
Oftentimes, officials found her in Gaston County not too far away from
her biological family’s home.
Catterton was loyal to her friends, officials said, and never gave
information regarding others or possible older men she would hang
around, an official said.
Catterton’s father, Nick, said it was always difficult for him when she ran away from the homes.
“She wanted to be with her parents,” he said. “It would always be me a cryin’ … her a cryin.’”
The calls
Catterton often lived on the run, staying at home sometimes, with
friends sometimes and at other times no one knew where she was.
“She wouldn’t even tell me who she was with because she knew I would come right then and get her,” Nick Catterton said.
Heather Catterton had recently been released from jail on drug charges, according to the N.C. Department of Correction.
Although the teen struggled with drugs and did hang around the wrong
crowd, one family member said, she didn’t deserve to die the way she
did, Catterton added.
“Whoever (did) this couldn’t have been in their right state of
mind,” Catterton said. “They had to be some kind of monster, maniac.”
Catterton was in a nearby hospital for about a month due to health
problems. After he was released last week from care, Heather’s body was
found the next day. She had been missing 10 days.
Her mother, Stella Funderburk, said in recent months Catterton
thought she could do whatever she wanted to do, but she always kept in
touch with her family until the weeks preceding her death.
“She didn’t call while he (her father) was in the hospital,” Funderburk said. “I knew something was wrong.”
Officials said in her past when trying to question where she had
been and who she had been with Heather never told anyone and protected
those she was around.
“She had a lot of connections in Cleveland and Gaston counties,” the
official said. “(Police) tried to get information from her and she
wouldn’t give any information.”
Take a look
Catterton said only the “man (upstairs) knows if this could have
been prevented.” He added communities need to become aware about the
trend of runaway teens.
“It’s a huge, huge problem … to be so young,” he said.
Catterton said he hopes his daughter’s runaway life will help
prevent this tragedy from happening again to another teen and asks
parents to look for signs.
“A father and mother can tell about their kids more than anyone in
the world,” he said. “Parents know the signs. A lot of time they don’t
believe the signs, but the signs are there.”
Information about runway prevention is available free through the NRS.
“It’s a tragedy that this 17-year-old was found dead,” Blaha said.
“Her life was taken from her. You wonder if there were different kinds
of interventions that her life could have turned out differently.”
“She was free hearted and free willed,” Catterton concluded. “I had no control.”

Lab results expected Friday could help sheriff’s deputies solve the
killing of a Gastonia teenager whose body was found two weeks ago near
the state line.
York County Sheriff’s Capt. Jerry Hoffman said results should be
available from various tests performed on evidence from the scene where
17-year-old Heather Marie Catterton’s body was found. He wouldn’t
describe the evidence collected and said the test results won’t be
released because deputies are still investigating the girl’s death.
“Some evidence is still being examined,” Hoffman said Thursday. “We’ll have to wait and see what the results are.”
Detectives are trying to determine where Catterton was and who she
was with between Oct. 18 — the last day family and friends reported
seeing her — and Oct. 28 — the day before her body was found. Hoffman
said tips have been pouring in, and deputies have fielded dozens of
calls about the girl.
“We’ve had a lot of folks calling in with a lot of information we’ve
started checking on,” he said. “We do appreciate the public response so
far. We’re still very interested in speaking to anyone who knows
anything.”
Catterton’s body was found on Robinson Yelton Road outside Clover,
S.C. Deputies said it had been there for one to three days, but
wouldn’t reveal whether she was killed there or her body had been
dumped.
The Sheriff’s Office is seeking information about two pickup trucks
spotted near the crime scene. The first, a red Ford F-150 with tinted
windows and a flat bed cover, was seen in the area of Robinson
Yelton Road between noon and 1 p.m. Oct. 27. The driver was a white
man, and a white woman was reported in the passenger seat.
The other truck is a Chevrolet S-10 with a two-tone custom paint job
— blue on top and tan on the bottom. It’s believed to be a 1987 to 1990
model and was last seen in the area between 9 and 10 p.m. Oct. 25 or
Oct. 26.
Anyone with information on Heather’s whereabouts or on either truck
is asked to call the York County Sheriff’s Office at 803-628-3059 or
Crime Stoppers at 877-409-4321.