Missing Goddess Update: Arrest Made in McPhatter Disappearance

Charlotte Mecklenburg Police confirm an arrest in the case of Nikki McPhatter, the Charlotte US Airways employee who disappeared more than three weeks ago.

They also say a body was discovered just north of Columbia which is believed to be that of McPhatter, who was reported missing on May 11th.

In a statement Friday night summarizing the case, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police say that their involvement began on May 11, 2009, when Nikki McPhatter was reported missing to CMPD, with the case being assigned to the department's Missing Persons Unit.

During the course of the investigation, information was developed indicating that foul play may have been involved in McPhatter's disappearance. As a result, CMPD Homicide detectives took the lead in the investigation on May 20, 2009, nine days after McPhatter's reported disappearance.

The statement says CMPD dedicated significant investigative resources that led detectives to Columbia, South Carolina. At that point, CMPD Homicide unit began a joint investigation with the Richland County Sheriff's Office in Columbia.

The CMPD statement Friday night notes that over the course of the past week, detectives developed information that identified Theodore Roosevelt Manning IV, identified as "Teddy," as being responsible for the death of Nikki McPhatter.

The investigation led detectives to the location of McPhatter's 2003 Black Honda Accord, and also to a body which CMPD investigators believe is that of Ms. Mcphatter in Fairfield County, South Carolina, just north of Richland County.

Soon afterwards, the Richland County Sheriff's Department obtained an arrest warrant for 29-year-old Theodore Roosevelt Manning IV. The Richland County Sheriff's Department arrested Manning at 7:04 p.m. Friday evening at his residence, 8047 Bluff Road, in Gadsden, S.C., which is in Richland County.

The statement offered no information about the cause of death. Wachovia Bank video from Columbia within the past several weeks showed an unidentified individual trying to use McPhatter's ATM card to obtain cash, suggesting robbery as a possible motive. Police have not yet confirmed the suspected motive.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Police concluded their statement by offering its thanks to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Richland County communities for the many tips and leads that they received in the course of the investigation.