Preston Pierce faces murder, kidnapping and body concealment charges after Fleming vanished in 2022.

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — A man accused of leaving a downtown Parkersburg bar with Gretchen Fleming before killing her and hiding her body has been returned to West Virginia to face a Wood County murder case.

Preston Pierce, 58, is charged in a case that began as a missing person report in December 2022 and became a homicide investigation after human remains were found nearly three years later in nearby Wirt County. The indictment moves the case from years of searches and public appeals into circuit court, where prosecutors must prove the charges against Pierce.

Fleming, 27, was last seen in the early morning hours of Dec. 4, 2022, after leaving My Way Lounge in downtown Parkersburg. Police said she left the bar with Pierce and did not take her purse and wallet. Her family reported her missing Dec. 12 after she had not contacted relatives or friends for just over a week. Parkersburg Police Chief Matthew Board later said investigators believed Pierce was the last known person with her. “Their strength, grace and resilience in the face of unimaginable loss have been truly remarkable,” police said of Fleming’s family after announcing Pierce’s return to West Virginia.

The investigation stretched across more than three years and moved through several stages before the indictment. Officers and volunteers searched areas in and around Wood County after Fleming was reported missing. Investigators examined tips, served warrants and looked for evidence tying Pierce to her disappearance. Police said Pierce admitted early in the investigation that Fleming had been in his car around the time she disappeared, then declined to give more details. Authorities have not publicly released a cause of death, a full timeline of the alleged killing or the exact evidence presented to the grand jury.

A major break came in September 2025, when human remains were found in a wooded area of Wirt County, about 20 miles south of Parkersburg. Police said the remains were later confirmed as Fleming through extensive forensic testing. The discovery gave investigators the proof that Fleming was dead, but it also opened a new phase focused on how she died, how long her body had been in the woods and who moved her there. Officials have said only that Pierce is accused of killing Fleming, kidnapping her and concealing her body after she left the bar.

A Wood County grand jury indicted Pierce on May 15, 2026, on charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, kidnapping and concealment of a deceased human body. Authorities said Pierce was arrested that same day in Buncombe County, North Carolina, in the Asheville area, after investigators tracked him out of state. Police said U.S. marshals were among the agencies involved in taking him into custody. Pierce waived his right to an extradition hearing, allowing Parkersburg detectives to travel to North Carolina and return him to West Virginia on June 4.

The charges carry different legal claims about the same death. First-degree murder accuses Pierce of intentionally killing Fleming. Felony murder alleges a killing connected to another felony, in this case the kidnapping charge. The concealment count accuses him of hiding or disposing of Fleming’s body. Prosecutors have not made their full theory public, and court filings available in public reports have not described the alleged sequence in detail. Pierce, who has also been identified as Darrell Lott, has been described in local reports as a former police officer. That background is expected to draw attention, but the indictment centers on what investigators say happened after Fleming left the bar.

After his return to Wood County, Pierce was booked and held in connection with the indictment. He later appeared before Wood County Circuit Judge Jason Wharton and pleaded not guilty to the charges. A not-guilty plea keeps all allegations unproven and sends the case toward discovery, motions and possible trial preparation. Prosecutors are expected to turn over evidence to the defense, including records about the bar, witness statements, search warrants, forensic testing and the recovery of Fleming’s remains. The defense may challenge the evidence, seek hearings or ask the court to limit what prosecutors can present at trial.

The disappearance drew wide local attention because it began in a familiar downtown setting and then went quiet for years. Fleming had been out at a Parkersburg bar before she vanished, leaving behind items most people carry when they plan to return. Her family and volunteers searched while police continued to describe the case as active. In earlier public statements, officials said they had to be careful about what they released because the investigation was still moving. That gap between public silence and private police work became part of the case’s long public life.

The Wirt County discovery changed the public posture of the investigation. Before the remains were identified, authorities were looking for Fleming as a missing woman whose final known movements were tied to downtown Parkersburg. After the testing, investigators could say she had been found and that the case involved a death. The identification also narrowed the focus on where evidence might be recovered. A wooded body recovery can leave investigators with questions about weather, time, animal activity and how much physical evidence remains after years outdoors.

Police have not said whether more arrests are expected. They have not announced whether anyone else is accused of helping Pierce travel, hide evidence or conceal Fleming’s body. Public statements so far place the criminal responsibility on Pierce. The next phase will likely test how much of the investigation can be shown in court and how much remains sealed until hearings or trial. The case could also include expert testimony on forensic identification, the condition of the remains and the links prosecutors say connect Pierce to Fleming’s death.

For Fleming’s family, the indictment does not erase the years between her disappearance and the discovery of her remains. It does give the case a defendant, a courtroom and a formal path forward. Police credited relatives for staying engaged while investigators worked through leads. The family had marked holidays, birthdays and anniversaries without public answers. Now the case is no longer only about finding Gretchen Fleming. It is about proving what happened to her after she walked out of My Way Lounge.

Pierce remains in the Wood County court system after his extradition from North Carolina and not-guilty plea. The next milestones are pretrial filings, evidence exchanges and any hearings scheduled by Judge Wharton as prosecutors move the 2022 disappearance into a murder case.

Author note: Last updated July 8, 2026.