Georgia police have arrested a 33-year-old man in connection with the 2005 disappearance of a high school teacher.
Ryan Alexander Duke, a former student of the Georgia Betboo higher school where the woman taught, was arrested Wednesday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation mentioned nowadays in a press conference. He was charged with burglary, aggravated assault, murder and concealing a death for the duration of his initial court appearance Thursday.
On Oct. 22, 2005, Tara Grinstead vanished from her property in Ocilla, Georgia, a tiny town with a population of significantly less than 3,500 about 160 miles south of Atlanta. She was 30 years old at the time. Police immediately suspected foul play in Grinstead’s case, the GBI said in a press release.
A enormous manhunt was launched immediately after Grinstead’s disappearance, but the case proved challenging due to the lack of proof located in Grinstead’s household, according to the GBI. Although they have received lots of suggestions over the years, none led to credible information.
Even so, the case remained open and the GBI recently received a tip that led authorities to interview subjects they had never interviewed prior to, which led them to gather adequate likely cause to charge Duke with Grinstead’s murder. The tip was given to police earlier this week in particular person when someone with the information walked into a neighborhood sheriff’s office, ABC affiliate WSB-Tv in Atlanta reported.
Duke graduated from Irvin County High School, where Grinstead taught history, 3 years just before she went missing, the Related Press reported. Duke was by no means previously a suspect in Grinstead’s disappearance, said GBI Particular Agent in Charge J.T. Richardson.
“I can say that this gentleman never came up on our radar by way of the investigation,” Richardson said.
In today’s court appearance, Duke requested a court-appointed attorney and stated he did not want a preliminary hearing. He will seem in court once again on April 12.
Grinstead’s stepmother, Connie Grinstead, said in Thursday’s press conference that Duke’s arrest is “a further chapter in a long and painful journey,” WSB reported.
While the case is a lot more than 11 years old, a GBI policy demands all investigative case files to be reviewed many occasions per year, and the case remained active for additional than a decade.
Grinstead, a former beauty queen, was last observed at a co-worker’s barbecue, WSB reported, prior to she left to go property. Police discovered her cell telephone and automobile at her house, but her keys and purse were missing, according to AP. There did not seem to be evidence of abduction.
Grinstead’s remains have been under no circumstances identified. The investigation is ongoing.
ABC News’ Rachel Katz contributed to this report.
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