A quiet North Carolina town is reeling after police found 6‑year‑old Mianna Roach dead early Monday morning following a harrowing abduction and pursuit that ended in a crash.
Mianna’s mother called 911 around 3 a.m. to say her daughter and her SUV had been taken from their Polkton home by Mianna’s father, 27‑year‑old Michael Roach. She told dispatchers that Roach entered her room with a gun and said he was taking their daughter. Law officers immediately began searching for the stolen vehicle.
For hours, no trace of the SUV surfaced until an Anson County deputy spotted the car in nearby Wadesboro. When officers tried to stop it, Roach did not pull over. Instead he led them on a high‑speed chase that finally ended when the vehicle ran off the road and crashed near Little Creek Road. Inside, officers found Mianna unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities say Mianna had suffered a gunshot wound before the crash and likely died prior to the collision. At the wreck, Roach also had a gunshot injury. He was rushed to a Charlotte hospital in critical condition where he later died days after the incident. Police believe Roach shot Mianna and then turned the weapon on himself in an apparent suicide attempt.
The community and Mianna’s family are left searching for answers in the wake of this tragic event. Neighbors described the Roach household as quiet and unassuming, making the violence of these early morning hours all the more shocking. Families in town have started coming together, offering support to Mianna’s grieving mother and calling for better safeguards in domestic conflict situations.
No Amber Alert was issued in the early hours of the incident because authorities said there was no legal documentation showing who had custody of Mianna. That detail has raised questions among community members about how missing‑child alerts are triggered and whether changes are needed.
