On a calm part of Rocky River Road in Cabarrus County, close to Belfonte Presbyterian Church Cemetery, people found the body of 20-year-old Rosetta Marie McClure in late April 1977. Almost fifty years have gone by, and her murder is still not solved. This is a cold case, kept in old police files and in the memories of those who remember.
McClure's mother told the Charlotte police that her daughter was missing on April 27, 1977. McClure lived on West 30th Street in Charlotte. To her family and friends, she was known as a gentle, soft-spoken young woman. Just a few days after she went missing, her body was found just past the county line in a quiet, country area of Harrisburg. This sad ending to her going missing did not get much attention in the beginning, but it still troubles police and loved ones now.
The Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office is in charge of the case now and has not shared many details over the years. They have never said what caused the death. The place where it happened was a quiet road close to an old cemetery. There were not any people around to see what happened, and there was not much proof to help out.
The sheriff’s cold case files say that how she died looked strange and they called it a homicide at the time. Still, no one was ever named as a suspect. There were no arrests.
Like many murders that happened to young Black women in the 1970s, McClure’s death did not get much attention in the news. The Rock Hill Herald published a funeral notice for her on May 9, 1977. This was one of the only signs in public records that her death even happened. There was no big story on the front page, no call for help on TV, and no candlelight vigil asking for justice. Her name slowly disappeared from the news. All that was left was a list of questions and the case number OCA #05-4998-77.
Now, almost 50 years after, the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office still has her case on its official list of cold cases. The file is still open, and they keep asking anyone who may know anything — even the smallest detail — to speak up.
“We think someone, somewhere knows something,” the department says on its website. “Even after all this time, it is never too late to do the right thing.”
For those who knew Rosetta Marie McClure, not having her around still stays with them. She was a daughter, a friend, and a young woman whose life ended way too early. There was a time before digital records, social media, or DNA databases. Many of these cases went out of sight fast. But, they were never meant to go out of people’s minds.
Today, McClure’s name is added to the long list of unsolved killings in North Carolina. But for the police and the few people who still think about her, there is hope. Maybe someone will talk, and justice will finally come to Rocky River Road.
Anyone who has information should get in touch with the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Cold Case Investigation Unit.