GBI: Man arrested in connection with death of Lumpkin County woman

LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga. - Investigators in Lumpkin County said they have arrested the man in connection with the investigation into the death of a 21-year-old woman who had been missing for days.

The body of Hannah Bender was found early Wednesday morning in a field in Forsyth County, investigators announced Wednesday.

Jerry Harper was arrested in Dawson County Friday afternoon in connection with the death.

Jerry Harper

Investigators said testimony from different individuals led them to a grave in which she was buried. Her body was found in a property adjacent to where investigators found a black Mazda pickup truck on Tuesday morning which was connected to the case.

RELATED: GBI: BODY OF MISSING LUMPKIN COUNTY WOMAN FOUND; 1 ARREST, 2 AT LARGE 

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation had previously taken the wife of 22-year-old Austin Todd Stryker into custody. She’s charged in Dawson County.

Deputies previously said they found Hannah's bloody clothes at an undisclosed campsite in the county, plus investigators found her cellphone and some bloody tools in another location in Dawson County.