*This story has been updated since press time.*
Multiple agencies assist RCSO in murder investigation
The Rabun County Sheriff's Office (RCSO), Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and multiple other agencies assisted in a murder investigation involving a deceased human body located in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Aug. 7, according to summary of the murder investigation released by the RCSO Thursday.
Keegan Cleve Phillips, 23, of Otto, N.C., was arrested and has been charged with murder and Robert Lee Peppers, 62, of Lula, Ga., has been charged with concealing death of another and abandonment of a dead body. Both subjects are being held in the Rabun County Detention Center with no bond, according to the RCSO.
"On Sunday, Aug. 6, the Rabun County Sheriff's Office was contacted by the Hall County Sheriff's Office in reference to a possible homicide in Rabun County. The Rabun County Sheriff's Office sent investigators to Hall County to question the subjects about the possible homicide they reported in the Hall County Sheriff's Office," according to the summary release.
The RCSO had received reports that a female subject was missing. Investigators began looking for the whereabouts of the woman and determined she was last seen the week prior.
A news release by the RCSO did not clarify the connection between the missing woman and located deceased human body.
Investigators and agents are waiting for the remains of the deceased human body to be positively identified by the GBI Crime Lab. At this time, The Clayton Tribune is not publishing the name of the missing woman.
On the evening of Aug. 6, investigators discovered a possible crime scene along what appeared to have been a shallow grave, RCSO reported.
Nelly Miles, director for the Office of Public and Governmental Affairs with the GBI, said that on Aug. 6, the GBI regional investigative office in Cleveland, Ga. was requested by RCSO to assist in a murder investigation.
RCSO reported that on the morning of Aug. 7, investigators and GBI agents learned a body had been disposed of in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest and the assistance of cadaver dog K9 Koa was requested. Later that afternoon, investigators and GBI agents executed a search warrant at 128 Peppers Lane in Clayton, Ga.
"It was confirmed by K9 Koa that human remains had been in what appeared to be a shallow grave. While that search warrant was being conducted, personnel from both agencies responded to a location in the Chattahoochee National Forest on Patterson Gap Rd. where K9 Koa located the deceased human body that could not be identified properly at the time,"
On the morning of Aug. 8, GBI agents, agents with the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO), and personnel from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) prepared to arrest Phillips with a murder arrest warrant.
"During that time it was discovered that Phillips was at a residence in Hall County being held at gunpoint by the homeowner. Just prior to Hall County Deputies' arrival to the residence on Gillsville Highway, Phillips fled to the woods," according to the RCSO summary.
Rabun County Sheriff Chad Nichols and deputies responded to the area of Gillsville Highway to assist in the search.
The GBI, Rabun County Sheriff’s Office, Banks County Sheriff’s Office, Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, and the Georgia State Patrol conducted an extensive search in the area of Gillsville Highway in Hall County, Ga., according to Miles.
During that active search, RCSO and GBI conducted an additional search warrant for crucial evidence at 123 Alexander Lane, Clayton, Ga., where another crime scene had been discovered, RCSO reported.
On the evening of Aug. 8, Phillips was apprehended and transported back to Rabun County by deputies on scene assisting with the search.
"Later that night, after multiple interviews, Sheriff Nichols, our deputies, and GBI agents, were led to another property in the vicinity of Black Rock Mountain and retrieved critical evidence to this investigation and for prosecution of the case," RCSO reported.
"During the course of this investigation, it revealed that this was an isolated incident and there was no immediate threat to the citizens of Rabun County. The delay of public information on this incident was due to it being determined an isolated incident but primarily it was the result of critical evidence needing retrieved before it could possibly be destroyed hindering the prosecution of the case," according to the summary report from RCSO.
According to GBI, the investigation is ongoing and once the case is done it will be given to the Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
RCSO thanked Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI); GBI Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO); Rabun County Search and Rescue (SAR); K9 Koa and Handler; Mountain City Police Department; Hall County Sheriff's Office; Gainesville Police Department; Banks County Sheriff's Office; Habersham County Sheriff's Office; Jackson County Sheriff's Office; Georgia State Patrol (GSP); Georgia Department of Corrections; Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Law Enforcement Division; and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) for doing "an outstanding job in bringing this case to a close."
"Sheriff Nichols would also like to personally thank Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch; Banks County Sheriff Carlton Speed; and Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum for responding and assisting in the apprehension efforts as well," according to the RCSO summary.
"The hard work, perseverance, and dedication to holding the defendants accountable for their actions led to a quick resolution in this investigation," RCSO released.
Check out the Thursday, Aug. 17, edition of The Clayton Tribune for updates.