Nationwide — Frezja Matisse Baker, a 31-year-old African American mom from Charlotte, North Carolina, disappeared after calling her family to say she was about an hour away. One week later, police found her dead inside her car.
Officers discovered Baker’s body on Thursday morning, December 11, around 9:35 a.m. The vehicle was parked in the 2300 block of Sanders Avenue on the property of an abandoned church, according to police.
Investigators said the car matched the description linked to Baker’s missing person case. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department launched a death investigation at the scene. Her cause of death has not yet been released.
According to People, Baker was last seen on the night of December 4 in Charlotte. She had been driving a gray-blue 2004 Honda Accord with temporary South Carolina plates. Earlier that day, she dropped her young son off at his grandparents’ house after a dentist appointment.
Later that night, around 10:30 p.m., Baker called her brother and said she was about an hour away. That was the last time anyone heard from her. When she failed to return home, her family grew concerned, saying it was unlike her to go silent.
“Her messages wasn’t being delivered, no phone calls was going through,” said Peaches Johnson, Frezja’s close friend. “It’s not like her to not call her son like she called her son every day, every night before he goes to sleep and we just knew something was wrong.”
Friends also said Baker had been seen that night with a man described as an acquaintance. Witnesses reported an argument, though police have not shared details about what followed.
Authorities are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously as the investigation continues.