HARALSON COUNTY, Ga. — A new tip in a 1988 missing persons case sparked a search for possible remains in Haralson County early Friday morning, according to the sheriff's office. After a nearly day's-long search, it's come up empty.
Deputies obtained a search warrant Friday at a property on Daniel Road in Tallapoosa in hopes of finding the remains of Bobby Gerald "Skin" Daniel.
“This is an over 34-year-old missing person case, that is 34 years of his family not knowing where he was or what happened to him,” said Haralson County Sheriff Stacy Williams.
Daniel was reported missing in the area where he was last seen leaving his construction job with a family member in 1988, deputies said. On May 10, the sheriff's office received a tip about Daniel's potential whereabouts. After speaking with Daniel's son, investigators learned new details about where Daniel's body could potentially be buried.
A small team of investigators tried to get background information on the case, but could not find the original case file from 1988. A judge still approved a search warrant for the property on Daniel Road Friday prompting the search headed by several other agencies including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
A cadaver dog from the Georgia Body Recovery Team alerted crews in the exact area where law enforcement Daniel was said to be buried, according to investigators. Ground penetrating radar identified anomalies and crews also noted that the ground had been disturbed in the past.
The forensic team from Piedmont University was called in to help. Officials said the students completed forensic coursework and have experience in the field. They dug for hours, but eventually reached levels of soil that had not been disturbed.
Officials widened their search but turned up with nothing. They called the search off Friday evening.
"At this time, we do not know if the body was moved after it was buried at that location or if the deathbed confession of (a family) was not true," the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff said that the office will continue to investigate the case. Anyone who has any information is encouraged to call the Haralson County Sheriff's Office.
"When leads like this come in, we will exhaust every effort to try and solve the case and get answers for the family," the sheriff said.