BUTTS COUNTY, Ga. — On Friday night around 7:30 p.m., missing Laurens County man Garland Warren's body was found near Wallace Road in Butts County. He was 82.
Warren had been missing since June 10 after he drove away from his home in Rentz. His family said he had dementia.
Butts County Sheriff's Office Lt. Matt Munger was one of the first law enforcement officers at the scene that night.
"That area is so thick down there, the woods are so thick. The grass is so thick. You can search that area five times and find five different things every time. It's probably like the worst searching conditions you could have," he said.
Wallace Road is a narrow, unpaved road near I-16. On June 21, the Spalding County Sheriff's Office received a Flock camera notification that Warren's truck was found in Griffin. That led them to find Warren's car in the parking lot of a Dollar General in Griffin.
A couple Robert Peppers and Kelly Osborne were arrested by the Spalding County Sheriff's Office on June 22 after they admitted to moving Warren's truck from a ditch on Wallace Road. They also confirmed that they found his truck on Wallace Road, the sheriff's office.
They were arrested and charged with theft charges for allegedly being in possession of Warren's truck.
After the truck was found in Griffin, a family came forward saying they previously found the truck on Wallace Road while driving 4-wheelers on June 15. They say the family thought it was located weird and took photos of the truck along with Warren's dog.
However, they didn't realize who the truck belonged to initially.
When they realized it was Warren's truck, they sent the photo to the Butts County Sheriff's Office who would confirm it was Warren's truck and dog in the photo. The sheriff's office also confirmed that they found Warren's dog alive after a "Good Samaritan" had taken it in.
Since then, Munger said law enforcement had searched Wallace Road extensively at least three times.
"It was searched by air, by helicopter, it was searched by drone. It was searched by ATV, four wheelers, side by sides," Munger said.
But on Friday, it was a private search party of about six to eight people from a neighboring subdivision that went looking for Warren, who found his body.
"They had contacted us earlier in the day and asked if they could search and we said absolutely. The way we looked at it from the sheriff's office is the more, the more people searching the more eyes on the ground, the better search of finding him," Munger said.
Munger said the body was camouflaged when it was found.
"Where it was positioned at, it was — it was covered due to brush," he said. "It blended in well."
There's a closed gate on Wallace Road, and Munger said they believe Warren was driving down the road when he got to the gate and tried to turn around. They believe his tires got stuck in the ditch, and that's when he walked into the woods on the side of the road.
Munger said his body was found about 100 yards from where his car was in the ditch.
He said they believe he went into the woods to explore after his car got stuck.
"Mr. Warren did have dementia, but back in his younger days, he was an outdoorsman. They said he loved the woods, his family did," Munger said.
Warren was from Laurens County, and Munger said they're still trying to figure out what he was doing on Wallace Road in Butts County.
"He was probably just riding around. And with his like of the woods that might be why he was driving down there. You know, that's still a million dollar question- is why was he on Wallace Road," Munger said.
Munger said they treat all death cases at the Butts County Sheriff's Office as a homicide until proven otherwise, and that includes this one. While it's still under investigation, he says he saw no signs of foul play when he was on the scene.
Anyone who has information on the case can call the Butts County Sheriff's Office at 770-775-8216.
MORE ON THE GARLAND WARREN CASE:
RELATED: Missing Laurens County man with dementia found dead in Butts County, sheriff's office believes
RELATED: TIMELINE: Laurens County elderly man with dementia went missing 2 weeks ago. What we know now
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