Remains found in Carlisle Street basement; Former homeowner missing

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Update March 28, 2024: Officials announced the body found in the woods behind TGI Fridays/hotels is linked to the 142 Carlisle St. death investigation, at the former home of missing Wilkes-Barre woman Debra Fox.

Human remains were recovered from the basement of a vacant house on Carlisle Street on February 27, 2024. The house is one of a row of six. At first, law enforcement didn’t confirm if the remains were human or animal.

Now, the remains have been confirmed human but not yet identified, according to a joint news release from the coroner, police chief, and D.A. Hopefully DNA can identify those remains ASAP. There is no shortage of missing persons cases in NEPA.

The house at 142 Carlisle was sold at a tax “upset sale” in September 2023. The deed for the home was recorded January 26,2024. The remains seemed to have been discovered when the new owner, who appears to be an out-of-town investment buyer, was clearing things out of the house, like old mattresses.

The home belonged to a single family for several decades, going back to the late 1940s. Before these recent sales in 2023 and 2024, Debra “Debbie” Jane (Race) Fox and her husband Daniel owned the home. Debra’s parents, Luke and Elsie Race, owned the home before that.

According to her two daughters, Debra, who is 69 year old, moved out of the Carlisle St. house during the summer of 2023 and had been living in a nearby hotel. The two women say they haven’t seen or heard from their mother since early February 2024.

The Times Leader recently reported that Debra Jane Fox had an active protection-from-abuse order against Jason Paul Race, 43, who also resided at 142 Carlisle. (He is likely a relative of Debra’s since her maiden name is Race.) She petitioned for the PFA on August 14, 2023, claiming horrific elder abuse, “…she was starved, assaulted, shot with pellet guns, pistol whipped, denied personal hygiene products, forced to use illicit drugs and had money stolen from her.”

Jason Paul Race was also in trouble with the law on July 27, 2023 for obstruction. The charges were dismissed, but they mention that a man claims he was held in the basement of 142 Carlisle St. against his will. It says he was held there because he was accused of sexually assaulting a child. The TL report doesn’t state who made the accusations or who held him in the basement.

[redacted Apr 4. 2024]

Information needed

Investigators are trying to locate Debra Jane Fox as well as anyone who has lived in the house at 142 Carlisle Street during the past 12 to 24 months. Based on what a neighbor told reporters, it seems like a lot of people were coming and going from the house in recent years.

If you have any information relating to this case, contact The Wilkes-Barre Detective Division c/o Lt Mathew Stash at 570-208-0911 or Detective James Conmy at 570-208-6775.

Also, you can submit an anonymous tip through PA Crime Stoppers, and if your tip leads to an arrest, you could be eligible for a $5,000 reward.