WASHINGTON COUNTY, Georgia — A week after a Washington County teacher was reported missing, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said in a press conference on Friday that a body has been found.
In the release, they say they believe the body is the missing 46-year-old Tina Prince. They are awaiting dental record and autopsy results to confirm.
31-year-old Aaron Adams is the man previously mentioned in the investigation.
Warrants charge Adams with concealing the death of another person and two counts of false statements and writings.
CASE HISTORY
Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran says the last time 46-year-old Tina Prince was seen was when she was at Puebla's Mexican Restaurant in downtown Sandersville eating with her daughter last Friday night.
The family told deputies Prince started getting texts during dinner. That's when she went outside to take a call, came back inside and told her daughter she was leaving.
No one had seen or heard from her since.
According to Cochran, Prince drove about two miles down the road to Walmart to meet a man she knew after she left the restaurant. Investigators saw her get in the man's car through surveillance footage.
He said they have spoke to that man and he is cooperating with the investigation.
"After reviewing the video footage, she and the friend met up, she left her car and got in the vehicle with him and they left. We've determined that there's nothing suspect about that," Cochran said.
Deputies found her blue Kia Forte at that Walmart on Sunday morning. Shortly after, the sheriff's office asked for help form the Georgia Bureau of Investigation with the case, in order to have access to their forensics team.
On Tuesday the search continued for the missing Washington County teacher. Georgia State Patrol had helicopters in the air afternoon looking for her.
That's when Cochran told 13WMAZ he was "deeply concerned for her safety."
"One, because it's out of character for her completely to not be communicating with the family. It's very out of character for her not to be on social media in some form," he said.
On Wednesday the sheriff's office shared new photos from the surveillance footage in a Facebook post, showing what Prince was wearing when she went missing last Friday.
On Thursday, Cochran announced that the FBI started providing technical support in the investigation. That's the same day the Department of Natural resources started searching a pond off of Highway 24 West in connection with Prince's disappearance.
They found nothing in the precautionary search on Thursday afternoon.
As the search continued Thursday evening, family, friends, and the Sandersville community prayed that Prince would come home safely. Concerned community members gathered for a vigil at 8 p.m. at the First Church of the Nazarene in Sandersville.
Prince has two adult daughters and is a first grade teacher Ridge Road Primary School.
Meghan Nugent, Director of Public Relations with the Washington County Board of Education, says Prince was scheduled to teach summer classes next week.