Body of missing Fort Valley student found; Boyfriend arrested on unrelated charges
DeMarcus Little (Peach County Sheriff's Office)
FORT VALLEY, Ga. - Police said they have arrested a man in the on-going investigation following the discovery of the body of 23-year-old Fort Valley student Anitra Gunn.
DeMarcus Little, 23, of Fort Valley, was arrested on charges of criminal damage to property around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, just hours after authorities confirmed finding Gunn’s body in a remote area of Crawford County.
Police said Gunn’s windows at her apartment were smashed and the tires on her vehicle were slashed on Feb. 5, ten days before her family reported to police she was missing.
Police say 23-year-old Anitra Gunn went missing on Valentine's Day. (Fort Valley Police Department)
Fort Valley Police Chief Lawrence Spurgeon told FOX 5's Aungelique Proctor, Gunn was last seen by a male acquaintance on Friday between 11 and 11:30 on Chestnut Hill Road just outside Fort Valley at a relative's house of that male friend. The chief also said her friend was cooperating with investigators.
Chief Spurgeon stated, "The investigation into Ms. Gunn’s disappearance is ongoing at this time."
Saturday, family members reported Gunn missing to police telling investigators they hadn't been in contact with her for an "unusual amount of time."
“We haven’t heard from her because that’s totally not like her she talks to all her family at all times,” Christopher Gunn, Anitra’s father.
Her vehicle was found later that day in the Fort Valley city limits. Detectives then searched the surrounding area, but nothing was immediately found.
A joint task force consisting of the Fort Valley Police Department and the Peach County Sheriff's Office as well as state agencies were created to help find Gunn.
Gunn’s body was discovered around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday hidden under branches and leaves in Crawford County near the Peach County line. Investigators said it appeared someone was trying to hide her body.
"About 150 yards off the roadway. He found a piece of the car or part of the car piece that we’ve been looking for. Found Ms. Gunn laying very close to part of that front bumper," said Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese. "GBI crime lab, you know, they still got to verify that this is who we think it is."
"She'll be taken to the GBI crime lab in Macon probably tonight," Todd Crosby, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, GBI.
Gunn was an agriculture major at Fort Valley State University and just months shy of graduation.
“It just very sad, you know we were really praying for a happy resolution,” said Gregg Russell, a former neighbor of the Gunns who recounted how his son attended Westlake High School with the young woman. “He remembers seeing her in the neighborhood and knowing her brother.”
“You send your kids away hoping they will be safe at college and then you hear these things where things happen it just hurts,” said Russell. “We are praying for the family.”
Anyone with information on Gunn's disappearance or death is asked to call the police department at 478-825-3384.