Georgia teacher Tara Grinstead has been missing for more than 10 years and after more than a decade without any real progress, authorities have finally made a major break in the cast, WSBTV reported. Ryan Alexander Duke has been arrested and charged with the Grinstead’s murder.
UPDATE March 3: Bo Dukes has been charged with concealing a death, hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence. The arrest comes one week after a police arrested Ryan Alexander Duke for Grinstead’s murder.
What Happened?
Grinstead, a former beauty pageant queen, was last seen at a co-worker’s barbecue on October 22, 2005. She was reported missing two days later when she did not report to the county high school on Monday to teach her normal history class.
Grinstead’s sister, Anita Gattis, told The Atlantic Journal-Constitution in February 2006 that her sister would not have left the barbecue on her own. Gattis believes her sister left with someone she knew on the night of her disappearance. Her house was locked but her car, a white Mitsubishi 3000 GT, was unlocked and in the carport, with $100 in the console and clay on the tired.
“Tara never left her car unlocked and never drove on dirt roads,” Gattis said.
Grinstead’s cellphone was found by police at her home, as was a latex glove found outside.
“There was no struggle in the house. Tara was a singer. That was her talent in pageants,” Gattis said. “If someone was removing her, she’d project her voice. And she took self-defense. She’d go out kicking and screaming.”
Grinstead is the subject of the popular podcast Up and Vanished.
A source contacted the Georgia Bureau of Investigations two years ago in February with new information that led authorities to a small pond on some private property in Fitzgerald, on the north side of Ben Hill County.
“We found a few items that were mentioned from our source,” GBI Special Agent in Charge J.T. Ricketson said. “We did not find any remains or anything like that, which was disappointing to us.”
What Is The New Information?
The Georgia bureau of investigation have arrested Ryan Alexander Duke and charged him with the murder of Tara Grinstead.
Ryan Alexander Duke graduated from the Irwin County School where Grinstead taught in 2002. However, Grinstead did not began teaching at the school until 2005. Duke was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon and a warrant for his arrest was issued Thursday morning.
Who Is Tara Grinstead?
Tara Grinstead is a Georgia teacher who vanished more than 10 years ago. In her free time, Grinstead competed in beauty pageants. She was named Miss Tifton three times and competed in several Miss Georgia pageants. Her body has still never been found.
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