Adopted son accused of killing man who was reported missing

Detectives arrested the stepson of a missing 79-year-old who was found dead and charged him with murder.

On Tuesday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department asked for help finding Fred Willie Dunlap, who was last seen Friday at his home on Bobby Lane in east Charlotte.

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Police said he didn’t have his required medication when he disappeared and family members were concerned for his well-being.

But on Thursday, CMPD confirmed they found Fred Dunlap’s body and that it was a homicide. Fred Willie Dunlap’s body was found Wednesday behind his home on Bobby Lane “from an apparent trauma.”

“It’s definitely a loss and definitely he will be missed around here,” said Corey Wynn, the Dunlaps’ neighbor. “We all kind of looked out for him over the last few years.”

After an investigation, detectives identified 21-year-old Desmond Elijah Dunlap as a suspect and arrested him Thursday. He was charged with murder, financial transaction card theft, and obtaining property by false pretense.

Fred Dunlap and his now-deceased wife adopted Desmond Elijah Dunlap when he was 8 years old. They all lived together.

“I think it’s very unsettling,” Wynn said. “Just the fact we recognize that person.”

Neighbors said Fred Willie Dunlap has lived in this community for more than 40 years and he was active for his age.

“I remember a time when a tree in the back fell on my property and I had to get the stumps cut up,” Wynn said. “I offered for them to cut his up too and he said, ‘No man, I’m going to get a chain saw from Home Depot.’ And he was back there trying to cut the stumps and I’m like, ‘Fred, you’re going to cut your leg off. You need to be careful.’”

Fred Dunlap was also loved by all the kids in the neighborhood.

“My son would call him Uncle Fred. ‘Hey, Uncle Fred.’ All the kids in the neighborhood would say the same thing,” Wynn said. “He was a very warm individual.”

Desmond Elijah Dunlap is scheduled to have his first appearance before a judge Friday morning.

This is not the first time he’s gotten in trouble.

He has been charged with burglary and resisting arrest.

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