A nationwide manhunt is underway for two Georgia men — ages 22 and 78 — after the body of a missing 21-year-old Georgia woman was found in a shallow grave Wednesday, say authorities who believe she was killed at a remote campsite in the forest.
The wife of the 22-year-old suspect is in custody in connection with the woman’s murder, Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said at a press conference Wednesday, local station Fox 5 reports.
On Wednesday, authorities found the body of missing woman Hannah Bender in Forsyth County, more than 45 miles south of where she lived in Dahlonega in Lumpkin County, Jarrard said at the press conference, local station WSB-TV reports.
Bender was last heard from in the early hours of Sept. 15 when she texted with her mother, Fox 5 reports.
Standing next to Bender’s father, Gary Bender, the sheriff grew emotional when he told reporters, “I’d been looking — hoping to find her alive. But in the wee early hours this morning, she was found.”
An autopsy will be performed at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab, which will determine how Bender was killed, he said.
‘Armed and Dangerous’
On Saturday, the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office obtained a murder warrant for Austin Todd Stryker, 22, of Dawson County, Jarrard said.
Stryker’s wife, Elizabeth Donaldson, was arrested in Dawson County in connection with the case, Jarrard said.
It is unclear what she has been charged with or when she was arrested, Jarrard said, since the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is handling her arrest.
Authorities are also searching for Jerry Harper, 78, who is considered a person of interest in the case, Jarrard said.
The U.S. Marshal’s Office has issued a nationwide alert for the pair. Stryker, Jarrard said, should be approached with caution because he is considered “armed and dangerous.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday that Stryker and Harper were last seen in Clay County, West Virginia.
The exact nature of the relationship between Bender and Stryker is unclear, but the two did know each other, Jarrard confirmed.
Authorities do not believe she was taken against her will, he said. “We don’t see it as being random,” he said.
“Testimonial interviews” from several people led authorities to the spot where her body was buried, Jarrard said.
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Investigators believe she was killed in Lumpkin County, “in a forest area, it was a campsite,” he said.
As to why someone would want to kill Bender, he says, “at this point in time I can’t answer that.”
Investigators located three crime scenes in three separate counties: Lumpkin, Dawson, and Forsyth, he said. They are collecting evidence from each location, he noted.
Chilling Last Texts
Authorities began investigating the young woman’s disappearance after her mother filed a missing persons report on Sept. 19, Jarrard said in a statement on social media.
“Shortly after receiving the phone call about a missing person, bloody clothing was located,” Jarrard said in the statement.
Authorities found Hannah’s bloody clothes at a campsite, Fox 5 reports. They also found her cellphone and blood-covered tools in another part of Dawson County.
Bender’s mother, Carol Gilreath, told WSB-TV she feared the worst when her daughter failed to return her texts. “My little girl is never coming back,” she told the outlet. “She’s not coming back because she’d never do her mom like that.”
The last time Gilreath heard from her daughter was in the early morning hours of Sept. 15, when they were texting each other goodnight, Fox 5 reports.
At 2:19 a.m., Gilreath texted her daughter, saying “Can’t wait to get home. How’s the painting going?”
At 3:14 a.m., Bender sent her mother a chilling reply, saying, “I fell asleep but had a nightmare,” prompting her mother to ask if she was home alone.
Anyone with information is asked to call 706-974-6824.
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