Police piecing together timeframe

MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. -- Irina Yarmolenko spent her last hours in the university area. Investigators still don't know how her body ended up on the banks of the Catawba River.

"She's not from this area and to find her way to that particular location is unusual," said Chief David Belk of Mount Holly police.

On Thursday night, friends and family members gathered for a candlelight vigil on the UNC-Charlotte campus.

On Friday, investigators spent a lot of time interviewing those friends, trying to narrow down the timeline.

Yarmolenko was seen on campus Monday around 9:45 am. She went to the credit union adjacent to the campus. From there, police say, she went to the Goodwill store around 10:18 a.m. Afterwards she headed to Jackson's Java where she worked, leaving around 10:50 a.m.

Investigators don't know where she was between 10:50 and 1 p.m. Her body was found at about 1:30 p.m. Investigators say she died from asphyxiation.

"There is nothing right now that she made an appointment to come here or something going on that brought her to Gaston County, so it is important for us to narrow that timeframe," Belk said.

Investigators have yet to find a witness who can place Yarmolenko with another person, and so far nothing explains her trip to Mount Holly.

Investigators think they need to solve both mysteries to crack this case.

Anyone with information should call 704-827-4343.