BREAKING: Body found behind church believed to be missing teen Ashanti Billie [UPDATE]

A body found behind a Charlotte, North Carolina, church Friday morning could belong to a Virginia Beach teen who disappeared 12 days earlier.

The anonymous source told The Virginian-Pilot that a landscaper discovered Ashanti Billie’s possible remains while trimming behind East Stonewall AME Zion Church. At this point, however, there is no official confirmation that the body belongs to the missing 19-year-old.

“We have received information that a body has been located in Charlotte, North Carolina,” Kimberly Wimbish, the family’s publicist, said Friday afternoon at a Virginia Beach hotel. “As the family awaits further updates, we ask that you continue with us in prayer that it is not Ashanti.”

Billie was reported missing after not turning up to her job on the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story and didn’t attend classes at the Art Institute of Virginia Beach. Authorities said her phone was in a dumpster four miles from where she vanished, CrimeOnline previously reported.

“I just want my baby home. Anybody if you’ve seen or heard anything, even if you think you saw something, please,” the teen’s mother pleaded.

ORIGINAL Story: Police: Virginia Beach college student missing, phone found in dumpster

The case took a grim turn on September 23, when volunteers recovered Billie’s Mini Cooper five miles from her job with no sign of the teen. Surveillance cameras showed the car leaving the base but it’s unclear who was behind the wheel, according to WTOP.

On Thursday, volunteers reportedly located hair braids and clothing near the Norfolk dumpster where her phone was found.

Despite this, the FBI echoed the family publicist’s statements in Friday’s press release:

“We are aware of the situation regarding human remains found in Charlotte area, but there has been no positive identification at this time. We are looking into it but can’t confirm anything.”

[Featured Image: FBI]