‘This is like really serious’: 911 caller describes wreck the night missing couple last seen

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A man called 911 to report a crash at River Road and Independence Boulevard the same night Stephanie Mayorga and Paige Escalara went missing.

The call came in at 11:53 p.m.

“This is like really serious. There’s a stop sign, the car didn’t stop at the stop sign and keep driving so fast, I was seeing it with my back mirror. I was already passed the car, you know? And I was seeing it with my back mirror, the car smashed the wall there,” the unidentified caller told 911.

The caller, who said he is not from Wilmington, got out of his truck and walked to the intersection to tell 911 the name of the road where the accident happened. He kept telling 911 ‘this was serious’ as he described what he saw.

The 911 caller confirms that the car was on Independence when it ran the stop sign at River Road and disappeared into the woods. The caller was coming from the opposite direction on Independence and saw the wreck in his side mirror. He told 911 he didn’t know what type of vehicle crashed, except he thinks it was grey in color.

“You said he hit a wall, do you see any damage to anything around?” the 911 operator asked.

“No, I don’t see anything, maybe he already past and he’s not [in an] accident, but he really drive fast and I saw with my mirror it like passing inside the tree.”

While on the phone, the caller said he didn’t see anything at the intersection.

“We’d rather them get out there and check it out and there be nothing than someone actually be seriously injured, or something you know?” the 911 operator said.

The caller waits for law enforcement to arrive. EMS and fire crews also arrived on the scene to search. At 12:07 a.m., an officer said they are unable to locate the vehicle.

Two weeks later, Wilmington Police announced they were searching for two women who had not been seen since April 15. They were driving Escalera’s 2013 grey Dodge Dart with South Carolina tags.

On Monday, police discovered Escalara’s car deep in the woods at that very intersection where the 911 caller reported seeing a crash. Two bodies were found inside.

Police say they now believe the car may have been involved in an extremely high velocity crash.

Wilmington Police say due to the effects of decomposition, they cannot positively identify the bodies until an autopsy is complete.