Police radio reports indicate the missing SUV that belonged to teacher Anthony Davis was found this morning in northeast Charlotte.
The vehicle was considered a key piece in the investigation surrounding the death of Davis, the 38-year-old Randolph Middle School teacher whose body was found Tuesday morning in his southwest Charlotte home.
Police say Davis was found shot in his bed.
According to radio reports, a vehicle matching the description of Davis’ Ford Edge was found off Back Creek Church Road.
Meanwhile, grief counselors are on hand today at Randolph IB Middle School, reeling from Davis’ death.
Davis started teaching business and computer classes 11 years ago after being laid off by IBM, his family said. He also served in the Army in a combat engineering battalion.
Davis never showed for work Monday and Tuesday at Randolph Middle. His brother says he called police early Tuesday to check on Davis, and officers found him in the house off Nations Ford Road.
CMS officials called in grief counselors to the school, where they said many students have taken his classes. They implored reporters not to contact students and faculty while they got the word out.
Officers have not named a suspect or given a motive, but they had asked the public to be on the lookout for the SUV – a silver or gray 2007 Ford Edge, with N.C. license plate XWE-2401.
“Don’t let this go unsolved,” a man who identified himself as Davis’ cousin told Observer news partner NewsChannel 36. “My cousin was a good man. … He didn’t do nothing to no one.”
Davis was known as a helper. Shannon Hames, an official with Right Moves for Youth, an organization that recognizes students for community service and helping those in need, said Davis was honored as the group’s Volunteer of the Year in 2009.
Davis’ mother died before he was a teen, and he stepped in to raise his three younger brothers, said Dwight Davis, the youngest. Soft-spoken but firm, he encouraged the boys to keep up their grades and taught them good manners.
“He’s an awesome brother,” Dwight Davis said. “He really went out of his way for us. He made us happy.”
Dwight Davis began to worry over the weekend when his brother didn’t return phone calls and e-mails. On Tuesday, he called the school district.
“When they said they hadn’t heard from him, that’s when I knew something was wrong.”
Anthony Davis was found in his bed. His plasma TV and some other electronics were missing. But there wasn’t any sign of a struggle, his brother said, and the security system hadn’t gone off.
“They’ve got to find out who did this,” Dwight Davis said. “It’s not fair. … He did anything to help anyone.”
Lorenzo Peterson, a minister at Victory Christian Center in Charlotte, said he’s known Davis since he was a student at Johnson C. Smith University. He heard the news of Davis’ death on the radio Tuesday afternoon and sped to Davis’ home.
“He was everybody’s friend,” Peterson said. “It had to be random. There’s no way somebody that knew him could do something like this.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call a homicide detective at 704-432-TIPS or call Crime Stoppers, 704-334-1600.
