**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

**Contact:**
Chad Flowers  
Public Information Officer  
919-618-1332  
cflowers@ncsbi.gov

On Monday, December 2, 2024, a hunter reported the discovery of human skeletal remains to the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). The remains were found in a drainage canal along Sandy Road in Pasquotank County, near the Perquimans County line. The remains were excavated and processed with the assistance of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the East Carolina University (ECU) anthropology department.

A preliminary evaluation by the ECU anthropology department determined that the remains belonged to a Black male, aged between 37 and 72 years, most likely in his 40s, and standing between 5’6” and 6’0”. Biological samples were collected and sent to the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory in Raleigh, along with comparison samples from family members of missing persons from Northeastern North Carolina and Southeastern Virginia.

On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory released its official findings, confirming that the remains belonged to Martrell Andre Lamar, a 42-year-old from Virginia Beach, VA. In July of the previous year, he was reported missing from Knotts Island, NC, through the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office.

Two suspects are currently in the custody of the Virginia Beach Police Department in connection with the suspected homicide of Lamar. The Virginia Beach Police Department will lead the ongoing investigation and any subsequent prosecutions related to this case.

If you have any additional information relating to this case, please call the Virginia Beach Police Department Detective Bureau at 757-385-4101 or contact Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.