HILDEBRAN, N.C. — Hildebran warrants brought Mark Ortiz back to North Carolina from Florida this month on counts tied to the remains of Anthony Jaworsky, found during a multi-agency search of a Burke County home.
On July 12, 2022, the sheriff’s office said that human remains were found at Curley’s Fish Camp Road in Hildebran. Officials identified the remains as Anthony Jaworsky. Jaworsky was reported missing on July 21, 2021 to the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office after being last seen in Burke County.
Burke County Sheriff’s Office was asked to assist in a missing person investigation with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. North State Bureau of Investigation joined the other departments to execute a search warrant for the residence on Curley’s Fish Camp Road in Hildebran, where human remains were discovered. Warrants obtained that day named 27-year-old Mark Ortiz on obstruction of justice and concealment of death.
A Catawba County grand jury in February 2024 heard the felony concealment of death filing against Mark Ortiz, 27. After a lengthy investigation, Ortiz was located in Naples, Florida on June 18, 2026. Ortiz was extradited back to North Carolina on Oct. 8 and served with warrants in Catawba County.
Mark Ortiz faces felony concealment of death in Burke County plus felony obstruction of justice counts, including a felony indictment for obstruction of justice in Catawba County. Ortiz was being held on a total bond of $751,000 under secured bonds totaling $751,000. His first court appearance in Catawba County was scheduled for Oct. 12, and his first Burke County appearance is scheduled for Oct. 22.
Details surrounding Jaworsky’s death were not immediately released. Felony dockets from Burke, Caldwell and Catawba counties move through prosecutorial district 36, the district attorney office that represents the state in criminal matters across those three western North Carolina counties while the extradition file continues in both counties.
