Seminole woman killed in North Carolina national parkway

Just a few months ago, Sara Ellis had moved from Tampa Bay to work within the Blue Ridge Parkway, one of the U.S. National Park System's most popular attractions.

"It's beautiful," said her father, Gregg Ellis of Orlando, "and it's one of the last places you would think you have to worry about this kind of thing."

His 29-year-old daughter was found dead Tuesday in that Asheville, N.C. parkway, her body lying on a trailside embankment. Federal authorities believe she was killed that day by a co-worker — 20-year-old Derek Pendergraft, who faces a charge of second-degree murder, according to a complaint filed Thursday.

Pendergraft worked with Ellis at the Pisgah Inn, a tourist stop on the parkway, which was the most-visited national park site last year. According to the complaint, he told investigators he and Ellis had gotten off about 4 p.m. and decided to go for a hike on a trail near the inn's employee housing.

It began to rain, he told investigators, and Ellis headed back toward the inn while he kept hiking. About two hours later, he told them, he found her umbrella and hat on the ground, tried looking for her and then informed management she was missing.

But then investigators received a call from the inn's manager, who said Pendergraft was in her office and had confessed to killing Ellis, according to the complaint. When investigators interviewed Pendergraft again, the complaint said, he told them he had "blacked out" and that when he came to he was looking at Ellis' corpse.

Ellis was only in North Carolina for a seasonal job at the inn, relatives said, working in hospitality. She had gone there in May after leaving Tampa Bay. She was one of three sisters — Carrie was two years older, and Rachel was her twin, born nine minutes after. The family originally lived near Melbourne, in Brevard County, where she finished junior high. Then, when her father got a job in Minneapolis, the family moved and Ellis graduated from high school there. She had started college but not yet finished her degree.

Ellis had been in the bay area for a year or two. Her sister Carrie said she had been a housing inspector in recent years and stayed with her stepsister, Tiffany Coleman. Coleman had been set to visit Ellis in North Carolina on her way back from a trip to Maryland.

"Sara could light up a room since she was a little child," her father said, adding later, "She could make friends in a minute. It's unbelievable that this could happen."

Her charm was noticeable even as a girl, he said.

That's why her mother nicknamed her "Sparkle."

Donations toward Ellis' funeral arrangements can be made at GoFundMe.com/saraellis.

Contact Justin Trombly at jtrombly@tampabay.com. Follow
@JustinTrombly.