Ga. man charged with murder of Lincolnton woman missing since 2023: Sheriff

LINCOLNTON, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Georgia man has been extradited to Lincoln County to face charges in the death of a missing woman found murdered, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

March 8, 2023, was Candice Jean Aufrecht’s 40th birthday and the last time she was seen alive. On that day, Lincolnton police say she was seen at the Lincolnton Chick-fil-A with Zachary “Zach” William Ramey.

Her family would then report her missing, launching an almost two-year-long investigation into her disappearance.

Tragically, on the morning of February 5, 2025, maintenance crews working along US 321 near Hardin Road found human remains, Gaston County Police say. This is north of Dallas in the neighboring county of Gaston County.

Days later, an autopsy revealed the remains to be Candice Aufrecht and that she had been murdered. The investigation then led to a home near Lineberger Road on the outskirts of Gastonia.

Over the summer of 2025, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and Gaston County Police completed interviews, conducted searches, gathered information and evidence, and carried out search warrants at several locations.

This led investigators to travel all over both Carolinas and Georgia, following leads and performing interviews. On July 2, 2025, detectives arrested a man for a 2023 weapons violation, leading the suspect to be extradited from Georgia to Lincoln County.

While the suspect was in jail, investigators gathered more information, resulting in additional charges being filed against a familiar name.

On July 17, 2025, Zachary William Ramey, the man last seen with Candice Aufrecht, was charged with First-Degree Murder in Lincoln County and felony Concealment of Death in Gaston County. This is in addition to the July 2 charge of felony Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.

Ramey, now 35 years old, has been living in Blairsville, Georgia. He is currently being held without bond at the Harven A. Crouse Detention Center in Lincolnton.

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Maintenance crews discover human remains on US 321

Lincolnton woman missing since 2023 still sought

Police search for missing Lincolnton woman