( CNN ) -- Police are investigating whether a North Carolina country road may have become the dumping ground for a serial killer , a man one woman believes could have given her a terrifying ride she will never forget . Jackie Nikelia Thorpe 's body was found along Seven Bridges Road in August 2007 . Since May 2005 , the remains of five women have been found near Seven Bridges Road outside Rocky Mount , North Carolina . The road snakes northeast out of town into rural Edgecombe County . Rocky Mount Police Chief John Manley Jr. thinks the women 's deaths are related . `` They seem to have some connection , '' he said . Lanessa Williams of Rocky Mount thinks she narrowly missed joining the ranks of the slain women , saying she is not sure whether a man who offered her a ride to a friend 's house last year is responsible for their deaths . The longer the two drove , the more she felt a sense of danger , said Williams , 38 . The man -- whom she described as thin and African-American , with a mustache and glasses -- rarely spoke and `` looked crazy . '' `` He kept on going , and he rode through lights , and he would n't let me get out , '' she said . Eventually , her fears were confirmed when he demanded sex . `` He told me that if I did n't do what he wanted me to do , he was going to kill me and throw me in the river . '' The man eventually stopped his truck in a dark wilderness area , she said . When he got out , she ran away . `` I laid in a ditch and stayed there for a while , '' she said . `` He was riding around looking for me . '' Police are talking to Williams about her experience . She told authorities she noticed something strange : The large block letters saying `` Chevrolet '' on the back of the man 's truck appeared to be painted on . All five of the slain women were African-American , authorities said . Four lived in Rocky Mount , about 55 miles northeast of the state capital , Raleigh . According to the Edgecombe County Sheriff 's Office , they were : . • Melody Wiggins , 29 , whose body was found May 29 , 2005 . • Jackie Nikelia Thorpe , 35 , whose body was found August 17 , 2007 , behind a house on Seven Bridges Road . • Ernestine Battle , 50 , whose remains were found in a wooded area on the road March 13 , 2008 . • Taraha Shenice Nicholson , 28 , whose remains were discovered March 7 , 2009 . • Jarneice Latonya Hargrove , 31 , whose skeletal remains were found June 29 , 2009 , in the woods off the road . Manley said it appears that the women `` suffered a similar death , '' but authorities are not divulging further details , including the cause of the deaths . Edgecombe County Sheriff James L. Knight is leading the investigation , working with Rocky Mount police and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation . The three agencies have created a joint task force to investigate the unsolved killings . Knight is asking the public to be vigilant . `` Watch for vehicles if they are on a path or stop along that roadway , and give us a call . '' Anyone with more information is asked to call the sheriff 's office at ( 252 ) 641-7911 .
Remains of five women found since 2005 along road outside Rocky Mount . Police chief said it was him ` ` suffered a similar death '' One local newspaper described terrifying ride with suspicious man . City , county , state agencies have formed police departments .