A homicide investigation is underway after the body of a mother-of-two was found burning on the side of the road in Georgia last week.
Brittany Wicklein, 31, was reported missing on Thursday after last being seen getting into a black vehicle in the 700 block of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard in northwest Atlanta, officer Steve Avery, a spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department, told Newsweek.
"Investigators discovered surveillance footage that appeared to show the missing person entering a vehicle along Joseph E. Boone Boulevard just before 1 a.m.," Avery said. "The video appears to show the missing person walk to the car, open the door and enter, before the vehicle pulls away."
Avery said around 12 hours after police were called, and around 27 hours after she was said to have entered the vehicle, her body was found in South Fulton.
Officers responding to call about a fire on the side of Jones Road arrived at the scene at around 4.30 a.m. local time and discovered human remains. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office later confirmed it was Wicklein's remains that were found.
"South Fulton is leading the investigation and we are working closely with them as this investigation continues," Avery said.
Since then, Wicklein's family have set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to cover the costs of her funeral and support her two children.
"Our sister, Brittany, was tragically murdered on June 18th," Demetrius Scott wrote on the page, adding that she was killed after being abducted outside her family's home.
"Brittany was the sole breadwinner for her family," Scott wrote, adding that she was "a protector and hero of her kids."
"We are going to continue this fundraiser so that Brittany's family can pay for funeral expenses and also help the family moving her from Atlanta to Indiana."
Wicklein and her children moved to Atlanta from Indiana to seek a better life and were living with her aunt, Melba Scott, according to WXIA-TV. She worked in the medical field, and loved music and dancing.
"She was so outgoing. She was so good to people. She was young, she was full of life, she gave it all," Melba Scott told the station. "I wish I could turn back the clocks because I wish I could protect her."
Wicklein's death came just days after another incident, in which human remains were found in similar circumstances in South Fulton. Police discovered those remains after responding to a vehicle fire in the 4100 block of Union Road on June 12.
According to the South Fulton Police Department, preliminary investigations revealed both cases originated within the city of Atlanta's jurisdiction, and that officers are working with the Atlanta Police Department on the investigations.
"The investigations are ongoing and limited information is available to be released at this time," South Fulton police said in a news release.
The South Fulton Police Department and Wicklein's family have been contacted for additional comment.
Update 6/22/21 9:00 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comments from the Atlanta Police Department.
