28-year-old Vickie would decide to run errands after work on a warm August afternoon in 1979 and would never return home. Vickie’s family took action right away reporting her missing and as they desperately waited for answers for two weeks their world would shatter when Vickie’s remains were discovered miles from home.

 

Vickie was born March 20, 1951, to parents Lonnie and Maydell Belk. She was the oldest child making her the big sister to five siblings. There were six Belk children in total five girls, April, Grenda, Judy, Kay, and one boy Lonnie Junior, also known as Ricky. 

 

Vickie and her sister Judy were the first black students to attend Minnie Howard Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia after her parents successfully won a civil rights lawsuit that forced Virginia to comply with the supreme court brown versus Board of Education school desegregation ruling.

 

The Belk family is a family that stands on principles and has fought and continued to fight for what is right. The Belk family has experienced and seen so much violence yet they continued to be role models to not only one another but there’s so many people in their community. I’ll circle back and touch more on the Belk family and how they’ve continued to take careers in fields and communities that make a difference.

 

In 1979, then 28-year-old Vickie was a mother to a little boy and worked as a management analyst for the US Department of Agriculture in Washington DC. She continue to be involved in the historic Alexandra community, known as the seminary because of how close it was to the Virginia theological seminary and Oakland Baptist church in Alexandria. That Oakland Baptist church in Alexandria was cofounded by her great grandfather Wesley Casey and is where Vickie was a Sunday school, teacher, and church clerk.

 

Vickie like her family was very involved in her community.

 

Just two weeks before Vickie’s disappearance, her family had gathered at the Oakland Baptist Church to watch Vickie’s little sister Judy get married. Vickie was Judy’s maid of honor and help organize much of the celebration.

 

Vickie’s siblings say that she was very thoughtful and very giving and that a lot of people looked up to her. Vickie’s family was very close to one another and had daily contact with each other.

 

Vickie was last seen on August 27, 1979, in Washington DC when she left work to run a few errands. As the afternoon wore into the night, and no one had heard from Vickie, her family became extremely concerned, especially her mother Maydell. In an interview with the Washington Times in 2009 Maydell said  “We were frantic about what was going on. This was unusual for Vickie not to call or check in on her son.”

 

Because it’s 1979 I am sure we know exactly where this is going but on August 27, 1979, when Vickie’s concerned family called to report her missing they were told because Vickie is an adult. They would have to allow 72 hours to go by before they can officially file a missing persons report. Vickie’s family says those two days were excruciating and unbearable and as the days went on, they knew something was very wrong.

 

On August 29, 1979, Maydell and  Lonnie would receive a call from the Charles County sheriff’s office telling them that they had some information about Vickie and that they would need to come down to the police department.  Vickies sister Kay remembers her parents actually being optimistic at the time of getting that phone call. She said “ at the time My parents just assumed she was hurt.”

 

However, when Maydell and Lonnie arrived at the sheriffs office, they would learn that their first baby, their eldest daughter had been sexually assaulted, murdered and left the side of the road.

 

Kay said she will never forget her mom uncontrollably crying and saying “he just threw Vicky in the woods like a dog.”

 

Kay went on to say “that night it was just chaotic. The grief was just so overwhelming for Vickie to die in such a violent way, was more painful to us as a family we just couldn’t believe it”.  

 

Vickies remains had been discovered earlier that day when a local teenage boy was riding his bike on metropolitan church rd in Bryans Road in Maryland when he would stumble across a deceased woman’s, body in the woods.

 

This boy would immediately ride home and tell his mother who reached out to police. Bryan’s road Maryland is about 18 miles or around 30 mins from Alexandria Virginia and roughly 26 miles around 41 minutes from DC. The reason I states minutes and miles is because I live in Maryland and I know that while things might only be a few miles away because of all the tiny towns and the small single lane roads because of the way that the East Coast was built up that 10 miles can equal 25 minutes because you’ll have to go down a bunch of 30 mile single lane country Roads.

 

 Bryan roads is a small town currently with around 8,000 residents, so a small quaint town not use to a discovery like this.

 

Officers would arrive on scene to find a partially clothed deceased female. She was then transported to the chief medical examiner in Baltimore where she was identified as Vickie Belk and her death was ruled a homicide. Investigators worked to secure the scene in Brian Road searching for clues and collecting evidence. Investigators would conduct countless interviews and follow countless leads, as well as testing countless items found at the scene for forensic analysis.

 

Director, Noel Germann has stated that throughout the years as forensic technology has become more advanced. They continue to test items in Vickie’s case, hoping to get the answers are looking for. They will continue to do these tests as new technology comes available and will continue to partner with

Maryland state police, Bodie technology and Sorenson’s laboratories in an effort to bring Vickie’s killer to light and hold him accountable. Germann also says that they are always researching new techniques and will continue to apply those available to Vicky’s case.

 

Because of the violence that touch their lives after loosing Vickie many of Vickie‘s siblings, and her only child have dedicated their lives to public service. Lamont Belk, Vickie‘s son graduated from Morehouse College and George Mason University school of Law and in 2009 and was the assistant Director attorney of DeKalb county Georgia.

 

Kay is retired sergeant from the contra, costa county sheriffs office in California and Lonnie the only boy of so many sisters is a lieutenant in the Fairfax County fire and rescue department .

 

Vickie’s memory and her devotion to service still lives on at Oakland Baptist church. Each year young scholars are awarded a scholarship in her honor from the Vickie Belk scholarship fund. This fund was started by the late Reverend A.R. Preston, shortly after Vickie‘s death, and has helped more than 80 students with scholarships through corporate and private donations. an annual community dinner and fundraiser continues to accumulate thousands of dollars and help many students.

 

Kay told Dominique Kelly a freelance writer for the Washington Times in 2009  “grief is like a black hole. It never goes away for us now as a family our energy is focused on keeping her case open and in the public eye..”  

 

her family, and as many of us know forensic science and the evolution of the technology and keeping Vickie’s face, and her story in the public eye is what will solve this case.  

 

Charles county sheriffs office recently in September 1 of 2022 on their Facebook page shared a cold Case video file featuring Vickie’s case. That video is linked below.

 

If you have any information about the murder of Vickie Belk, you can remain anonymous. Please contact Charles county crime solver’s at 1-866-411-8477  there is a cash reward of up to $5000 being offered for the information that leads to an arrest or indictment in this case.

 

 

Sources and Informative Links:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/25/pain-lasting-30-years/

COLD CASE: 42nd Anniversary Of The Homicide Of Vickie Lynn Belk

https://www.ccso.us/crime/cold-cases/cold-case-vickie-belk/

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=793409411895496

Charles Sheriff seeks answers in 43-year-old cold case

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