3 arrested for Chickamauga murder, 1 suspect still on the run

WALKER COUNTY, Ga. - Three suspects have been arrested, and a fourth remains at large in connection to the death of Dakota Bottomlee in Chickamauga, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

Kayla Michelle McClure, 21, of Ringgold; James Logan Darty, 21, of Rossville; and Marcuse Allen Chambers, 18, of Rossville, have been taken into custody. Brayden Whatley, 23, of Rossville, is wanted on charges related to the case and remains at large.

The investigation began early on Nov. 1 when Walker County 911 dispatched deputies to a cardiac arrest call at a home on the 1000 block of Johnson Road in Chickamauga. Authorities arrived just after midnight to find Bottomlee deceased in the carport. He had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Walker County Sheriff’s Office requested the GBI’s assistance at approximately 12:30 a.m.

On Nov. 6, investigators executed a search warrant at a home on Alabama Highway in Ringgold with assistance from the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team. Following this, arrest warrants were issued for McClure and Darty. Two days later, on Nov. 8, warrants were issued for Chambers and Whatley.

McClure, Darty, and Chambers have been booked into the Walker County Jail. Authorities continue to search for Whatley.

The investigation remains active and ongoing. Anyone with information about Bottomlee’s death or the location of Brayden Whatley is urged to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Calhoun at 706-624-1424. Anonymous tips can also be submitted via the GBI’s tip line at 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or through the "See Something, Send Something" mobile app.

Once the GBI concludes its independent investigation, the findings will be submitted to the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.