YORK COUNTY, N.C. -- Investigators say the body found in a York County park is that of a 30-year-old Gastonia woman.
The York County Sheriff's Office and the York County Coroner's Office identified the body as Randi Dean Saldana, 30, of Shannon Bradley Road in Gastonia. Her body was discovered in a remote area of Kings Mountain State Park by a passerby on Sunday shortly after noon.
Authorities are investigating this case as a homicide, but will not release the cause of death due to the ongoing status of the investigation.
Some York County residents are worried there is a serial killer on the loose. Police are investigating the deaths of Saldana and another girl after their bodies were found dumped less than 10 miles apart in less than a month.
"It is scary that it happened this close to home and this is the second time that it's happened," said Sara Michael.
Michael and a friend stopped to chat as they drove down Apple Road in the park where Saldana was found by a horseback rider on Sunday.
On Oct. 29, the body of 17-year-old Heather Marie Catterton of Gastonia was found on Robinson Yelton Road, another remote stretch outside of Clover, S.C. Police will not say how she was killed and no arrest has been made.
Investigators say it is still too early to tell if the two killings are the work of the same person or persons.
Noted crime scene analyst and author, Ross Gardner, who is guest lecturing at Central Piedmont Community College said, "We don't know the details so there may be facts in the background that say there is a correlation between them."
Gardner said if the killer thought he had destroyed all the evidence by burning the latest victim's body -- that would be a mistake.
"Just because the victim is burned doesn't mean that there is not DNA present and that the ME (medical examiner) might not have found something," he said.
Just outside the gate to the park sits the Bear's Den, a small, dimly-lit bar where locals gather to talk over the day. On this day the talk is all about the two killings.
One patron looked up from his drink to say, "I'm worried for all the small girls. That's who they seem to be hitting on, and like you said, it might be a serial killer."
Anyone who thinks they might know something about the murder of either woman is asked to call the York County Sheriff's Office at 803-628-3059 or CrimeStoppers at 877-409-4321.
