After a three-day search, a 14-year-old teenager has been returned to the safety of her family.
On Monday at 9:07 p.m. the sheriff’s office put a short post on social media alerting the public that she had been found. “We ask that everyone respect their privacy and give this family time to heal together,” it said.
The young woman had been reported missing at 7 p.m. Friday. She was found at a Towns County residence where she had been staying, according to Clay County Sheriff Bobby Deese. “We were able to locate her by doing surveillance at places of interest developed by the sheriff’s office after analyzing various forensic electronic evidence by the SBI,” Deese said.
There had been several sightings of the young woman reported on social media and to the sheriff’s office; however, Deese said those did not pan out. “Every sighting that was reported to us turned out to be incorrect. All of the locations where she was reported being seen after she was reported missing has surveillance cameras there or cameras nearby. We were able to retrieve that footage and determined the person seen was not her. Only one location where she was reported being seen had no cameras in the area.”
When asked how they located the young woman, Deese said, “It basically comes down to asking the right questions and following up on leads. In this particular case every investigator, patrol deputy and SRO were involved at one point or another in the investigation. We also received help from Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Towns County Sheriff’s Office and the SBI.” Deese said a male subject may face felony charges in both Clay and Towns counties in connection to the case.