Robin Doyle found dead in Catawba County, suspect Leroy Loper charged

Robin Doyle, a 58‑year‑old woman from Hickory, North Carolina, was reported missing on July 27‑28 after she vanished from her home on Northeast 33rd Street. Authorities launched an intensive search, involving the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Surry County Sheriff’s Office.

The suspect, 54‑year‑old Leroy Allen Loper, a registered sex offender with prior convictions for first‑degree kidnapping and second‑degree sexual assault, was arrested on July 29 on unrelated registration violations. After the discovery of Doyle’s body in a wooded area of northeast Catawba County on July 31, investigators charged Loper with first‑degree murder, first‑degree kidnapping and concealment of a death. He remains detained without bail, with a court appearance scheduled for August 3.

The case has been classified as a homicide with a priority investigation, and law‑enforcement agencies continue to gather evidence to fully resolve the circumstances surrounding Doyle’s disappearance and death.