Erica Hunt, 20: Missing Woman's Remains Identified Through DNA
Her remains were located in 2018, and last year, there was an arrest in the case.
Years ago, I covered the story of Erica Hunt, who was last seen on July 3, 2016, at a relative's house in Opelousas, Louisiana. She was enjoying time with family members, including her young daughter, and was looking forward to her 21st birthday.
Erica reportedly left her two-year-old daughter with relatives for the evening and planned on picking her up the next day to take a day trip to the lake with friends, but she never arrived. Recently, there was a break in her case.
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For almost five years, Erica Hunt remained a missing person, but it was shared that the 20-year-old’s remains were identified through DNA testing. Back in 2018, a team of volunteers was searching for a missing boy when they just happened to stumble across a human skull under a shed in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana.
The LSU FACES Lab and the DNA Doe Project partnered in the quest to identify the skeletal remains—a long process that hopefully, though sorrowful, gives Erica’s family some answers.
Later, investigators pieced together what happened to Erica Hunt. Her death was being investigated as a homicide, and last year, an arrest was made in connection with the case.
Per Fox 15 News:
“Jail records show Jordan Barnes, 33, of Church Point, was arrested by Louisiana State Police and booked into the St. Landry Parish Jail on a charge of second-degree murder.
“Troopers with Louisiana State Police said Barnes confessed to killing Hunt, who disappeared in 2016. Remains found in Ville Platte two years later were identified as hers in 2021.”
“She was always smiling, and she just loved being around family and friends,” Shantashia Isaac, Erica’s sister, told Dateline in July 2020.
“And we were as close as sisters could be. I mean, of course, we fought like crazy. But we could be arguing and then if something happened and I needed her, it didn’t matter, she would be right by my side to help me. That’s who she was.”
Please share this story about Erica Hunt to keep her memory alive as her case is ongoing. She was our sister, and her life matters.
Case Number:
Agency: Crime Stoppers
Phone: 948-TIPS or text “TIPS 6-2-5”
Email:
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