Man charged in missing woman case
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RALEIGH -- Raleigh police have charged a man with first degree-kidnapping in connection with the disappearance of a Wendell woman.
Antonio Chance is also charged with obtaining property by false pretenses. That charge is related to the attempted use of a debit card belonging to Cynthia Moreland.
Police say the attempted use of the debit card happened just before 10 a.m. Tuesday morning at a Dollar General store on Fayetteville Road.
Police identified Antonio Chance as the man in a surveillance video.
The Garner man made his first court appearance Friday afternoon. He didn't make any comments in open court and they are still working out details on a lawyer for him. The judge set his bond at $1 million.
Chance's sister who did not want to be identified said, "Right now you all are seeing him on TV and his face is a monster but the boy that we know, I know he's not a monster. I know he loves people."
Chance was identified by detectives as the individual shown in a surveillance video. Moreland is still missing.
She disappeared on her way to the Progress Energy building in downtown Raleigh where she worked. Her family and friends reported her missing when she never showed up for work although her Progress Energy card had been swiped at the company's parking deck.
Raleigh Police Department spokesman Jim Sughrue says investigators believe Chance acted alone and did not have a previous link to the victim.
“She never missed a day unless she was sick or unless a family member is sick and she had to take care of them,” said her mother, Louise Wilkerson.
Cynthia Moreland, left, has been missing since Tuesday morning.
Her daughter, Keisha, added, “When she’s not at work, she's at home and when she's not at home she's at church.”
Moreland has worked for Progress Energy for the past 26 years. Her gray 1998 Toyota Camry was found Wednesday morning on Malta Avenue.
Chance is a convicted sex offender who also has a record for drug charges. While Moreland's family is praying for her safe return, Chance sisters say they're doing the same.
"I want them to know we have been praying for her safe return and I just want to tell them don't judge my brother yet," one sister said.
Anyone who has information concerning the case is asked to contact the Raleigh Police Department. Detectives are very interested in speaking with anyone who saw Moreland's car on Tuesday morning before it was abandoned. Her N.C. license plate tag number is MRD-1154.
Chance's next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 14.