Danielle Denise Moss was supposed to be at her family’s home in Maryland for dinner on Easter Sunday. Her stepmother was sure Moss would come because she had baked a ham, prepared just the way her stepdaughter liked.
Moss’s partially covered body was found Friday evening by a person walking near power lines that cross Holly Spring Drive in Waldorf, Md. Authorities said Tuesday the case is being investigated as a homicide.
Authorities declined to say how she died. The Charles County sheriff’s office said detectives were working with police in Prince George’s County but did not provide other details. No arrest has been made.
The discovery of Moss’s body near a two-lane road that cuts through arching trees off St. Peter’s Church Road, about two miles from Route 301, brought a frantic search by her family to a tragic end.
Loved ones had posted pictures of Moss on social media and hung banners. Now, they are now planning a funeral and awaiting answers from police.
“I want them to remember her as being a very vibrant, beautiful young lady,” Hammond said Tuesday. “She was a friendly person. She loved to dance. Her personality was overwhelming.”
Hammond said Moss had a 4-year-old son being raised by his father and worked at a downtown hotel helping tourists book tours and navigate the city.
She had worked the Saturday before Easter, finished at 6 p.m. and made her daily call to Hammond, where they finalized plans for the holiday dinner in Prince George’s County.
Hammond said she detected nothing amiss in the call. “She was in a good mood, that was it,” the stepmother said. She added that Moss had also told her father she was coming to dinner.
Moss lived with her uncle on Q Street SE, in the Randle Highlands neighborhood. Hammond said Moss went out between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. on April 9, Easter Sunday, and disappeared. Hammond wouldn’t discuss information police told them about the case or other details, saying the family did not want to hinder the investigation.
Hammond said she grew more and more concerned as Easter dinner went on. Without Moss, she said, the mood at the table was far from festive. She described Moss as outgoing and talkative, commenting on strangers’ dresses or shoes, and dressing stylishly herself. If she saw someone with a baby, she would stop them to talk and ask the infant’s name.
Most of all, Hammond said, “She loved her family.”
She also loved Hammond’s ham.
Hammond said she prepared it with a secret family twist. She said she couldn’t disclose what that was, but it would always draw Moss home. “She couldn’t wait to get here for that,” Hammond said.
