ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY, Va. — The body of a missing teenage girl was found and reported to the Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Office Friday, and investigators are treating the teen's death as suspicious.
According to a spokesperson, 18-year-old Aonesty Selby, of Williamsburg, had been reported as missing earlier in the day by family members who hadn't heard from her since Wednesday, January 11, 2023. She had just turned 18 the day before she went missing.
Her body was found on a dirt logging path in the area of Blue Ridge Trail, Windsor, Virginia - a remote area of Isle of Wight County.
Captain Tommy Potter with the Isle of Wight Sheriff's Office said investigators found an unsecured gate in the area of Blue Ridge Trail.
"So, we think that is how she and whoever else she may have been [with] gained access to this area,” Captain Potter said.
Captain Potter wouldn’t disclose who found Aonesty’s body. However, Aonesty's aunt, Ebony Selby, said it was her, along with Aonesty’s mother and father.
Ebony said a friend was able to ping Aonesty's location from her phone and sent it to the family. That's when Aonesty's aunt said she and Aonesty's parents headed to Isle of Wight.
Ebony compared the moment she said they found Aonesty’s body to a horror movie.
“You never want to see something like that in your life,” she said.
Captain Potter said Aonesty’s phone was last used around 8:30 Wednesday night. However, investigators aren’t sure it was Aonesty who used it.
Ebony and detectives are both trying to figure out how she got to the Blue Ridge Trail and her connection to the Windsor area.
“That’s never a place that we’ve ever heard of her visiting or going to," Ebony said.
Amiyah Hudson, a friend of Aonesty, said Aonesty wasn’t the type to put herself into harms way.
“As far as I know, she never really involved herself in anything that could put her in danger,” Hudson said.
Ebony expressed disbelief that just a few days ago, the family celebrated a milestone birthday for Aonesty. Now, they are mourning her.
Ebony described her niece as a helpful, loving, and sweet person. She said Aonesty dreamed of going to cosmetology school after high school.
“She has such a good spirit about her that little children and babies would just flock to her,” Ebony said.
Ebony said she wants the FBI to join the case to help uncover what happened.
“We need answers. We need answers to all this. There’s so many questions,” Ebony said.
Aonesty is believed to have been in the company of several individuals just before her death. No other information was provided by authorities and the spokesperson said the investigation is ongoing.
Aonesty's body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Norfolk for an autopsy. The spokesperson said that until a cause and manner of death are confirmed by the medical examiner, Investigators are treating her death as "suspicious."
Aonesty's aunt has created a GoFundMe account to raise funds to offset the cost of a funeral.
Anyone who has information as to the whereabouts of Aonesty Selby between January 11 and January 13, 2023, is asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-Up or to utilize the P3 Tips App to report what they know.