Police confirm remains may belong to missing woman

Police in South Carolina are working to confirm if human remains found in Anson County belong to a woman from the Pittsburgh area who went missing in 2021. Amber Rae Johnston was last seen in Charlotte, North Carolina. She failed to board a bus to return home after a trip to Arizona. The remains were discovered in 2022 during the construction of a middle school. Anson County investigators believe these remains could be linked to Amber. Captain Brian Tice stated that while there is no positive ID yet, the evidence suggests a strong possibility that the remains are hers. Amber's mother, Sharon Johnston, expressed her mixed emotions upon hearing the news. She has struggled for years not knowing her daughter's fate. “I cried like a baby...even though I knew,” she said. She added that no one deserves to be alone like that. Investigators are still unclear on how Amber got to Anson County. Her phone last pinged at a truck stop on August 19, 2021, before it was deactivated the next day. There are trail photos from August 22 showing a woman resembling Amber, seen in the woods near Anson High School. The clothes found with the remains matched what was seen in the trail photos. The connection between the remains and Amber was made after the photos were posted to a national database in January 2024. Sharon believes Amber may have traveled to Anson to see an ex-boyfriend, who has since died. She hopes that someone with more information will come forward. The family is now waiting for a final DNA match to confirm the identity of the remains. If confirmed, Sharon plans to bring Amber back home for a proper funeral.