Local law enforcement agencies continue to investigate the case of a missing woman and her coworker, who was found dead on Aug. 20.
Peggy Merimon and Kay Harrelson were last seen leaving Lubbock State School Aug. 9, Lubbock police Lt. Scott Hudgens said.
Hudgens said witnesses saw Merimon and Harrelson leave the school at around noon with an unidentified white male. They were reported missing later that day.
He said police do not consider this a kidnapping case because both women willingly got into the suspect's car.
The search continued without any answers until Aug. 20 when Harrelson's body was found by a search team in a field 11 miles south of Shallowater, Hudgens said. The search team was made up of family members of the Merimon family, who searched every inch of that area for any clues, he said.
On Aug. 21, the Lubbock County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the body as Harrelson. However, no cause of death has yet been released.
Dr. Thomas Beaver of the medical examiner's office said they made a positive identification on the body, but still have several tests to do before the cause of death is released. He said the cause of death will be released in two to three weeks.
Beaver said the body's state of decomposition fits the time-frame of Harrelson's disappearance.
Hudgens said many law enforcement agencies are pooling their resources as they work together and are hopeful they will find Merimon.
"We are following all the crime line leads to try to determine where she might have gone," he said. "The agencies involved are doing everything they can."
Hudgens said Lubbock police are investigating Harrelson's death as a homicide and Merimon's disappearance as a missing person's case.
"Our investigators have been working hard for a little over two weeks," he said. "We have been putting in lots of overtime."
Hudgens said the sheriff's department, the Texas Rangers and the FBI are assisting in the massive search for Merimon. The Lubbock Police Department is in charge of the investigation.
A composite sketch of the man who drove away with both Merimon and Harrelson in his vehicle was released by the Lubbock Police Department Thursday. The suspect's vehicle is being described as a rusty sedan.
Police said they have not named a suspect but took in a person of interest to ask questions.
Hudgens said the person of interest is an employee of the state school in which Merimon and Harrelson worked.
Police searched his home and vehicle after a search warrant was obtained, Hudgens said.
He said the man was not named a suspect and no charges have been filed, but he still remains a person of interest.
Merimon is 5 feet 6 inches tall and 150 pounds with dark hair and green eyes. She wears black-framed glasses and was last seen wearing a light blue button-down shirt with black pants.
Hudgens and the police department encourage anyone with information about the case to call Crime Line at (806) 741-1000.
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