‘We believe she was violently taken’: Family seeks answers 1 year after Charlotte Lester’s disappearance

WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) — On the one-year anniversary since Charlotte Lester’s disappearance, her family and friends remembered her with a memorial at one of her favorite local spots.

Capt. John McAniff, a detective working her case, joined her family and friends at the Arnold Neck Waterfront Park in Apponaug.

He couldn’t relay much new information on Charlotte, who hasn’t been heard from since her family reported her missing last May.

Mark Lester, Charlotte’s brother, said its been a tough year for him and their family, coming to terms with the fact that Charlotte may have passed since disappearing.

This is a missing person flyer for Charlotte Lester, who was last seen in May 2022. (WLNE)

“Through our own investigation and resources we believe she was violently taken away and it changed a lot,” Mark told ABC 6 News.

“She was a kind person but very fierce — she was an animal lover and just genuinely a good person that would help out their neighbor,” he added.

The case, well known for having rocked the Warwick community, has continually prompted more questions than answers.

Within a week after she went missing, her beloved dog was found abandoned along Elmwood Avenue, and her red truck was found inexplicably parked at Kent Hospital.

Soon after, police executed a search warrant at a Staples Avenue home, where Charlotte was known to frequent.

Warwick police search a home connected to the Charlotte Lester case, May 27, 2022. (WLNE)

The owner of the home, Mark Perkins, told police he didn’t know where Charlotte was.

He later faced assault charges for attacking radio host John DePetro with a lawn mower while he was doing a Facebook live on the case. DePetro also faced a trespassing offense in connection to the incident but the charge was later dropped.

Charlotte has not been in contact with any family since last year.

Her loved ones increased a reward for any information in the case multiple times.