CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. — Nearly nine months after Caitlin Hodges was first reported missing, her family is still searching for answers. The 29-year-old Crystal Lake woman, who disappeared last summer while visiting North Carolina, has now been confirmed dead, according to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.
Human remains discovered last fall in a wooded area of Goldsboro, North Carolina, have been positively identified as Hodges, authorities announced earlier this month. The grim confirmation has left her family desperate for closure.
“We want an end to this for my family,” said Jennifer Allio, Hodges’ cousin. “It’s been going on for too long.”
Hodges had traveled to Goldsboro with her boyfriend and was expected to stay only a few weeks. According to her family, the couple was living at the boyfriend’s mother’s house at the time of Caitlin’s disappearance.
“He told police he went to work, and that Caitlin left in the middle of the day,” Allio explained.
Hodges was reported missing in July 2023, and her absence has been deeply felt ever since. Holidays, family gatherings, and most recently, what would have been her 30th birthday on April 14, have passed without her.
“Caitlin is my baby cousin,” said Allio. “She was born ten years after us. She always got a lot of love. She was very special.”
The investigation took a critical turn last November when a skull and other remains were found in the woods near the 900 block of Dollard Town Road. Additional bones were recovered in the same area several weeks later. Initially, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office stated that the remains belonged to a woman, but were unable to confirm they were Hodges’.
That changed in April, when, with assistance from the North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, forensic testing conclusively linked the remains to Hodges.
Despite this development, many questions remain. The circumstances surrounding Hodges’ death have not been publicly disclosed, and her family continues to press for information and justice.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation remains ongoing. Authorities are asking anyone with information related to the case to come forward.
For now, Caitlin’s loved ones are left to mourn — and to hope for the answers they have waited nearly a year to receive.