Death of Debbie Collier: Investigators execute search warrants after Georgia’s mother is found dead in the woods
GBI said it was assisting with Debbie Collier’s autopsy. The Atlanta FBI office said it was aware of the case but the investigation was with local authorities.
HABERSHAM COUNTY, Ga. – Police found the remains of Athenian mother Debbie Collier on September 11, a day after the woman was reported missing.
Few details are known about the investigative developments since the body of the 59-year-old real estate agency manager was found. Investigators have not said whether they have located any person of interest or motive in the case.
Incident reports from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department and Habersham County Sheriff’s Office provide a timeline of some of the events leading up to the grisly discovery:
Debbie Collier’s husband sees his wife before bed
In a report from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, Steven Collier told police that he last saw his wife, Debbie Collier, before going to bed around 9 p.m. on September 9.
DEBBIE COLLIER DEATH: WHAT WE KNOW
He told the officer they slept in separate rooms because he snores.
Debbie Collier’s husband goes to work, sees her car
The police narrative did not specify when Steven Collier left for work on September 10, a Saturday, but he did tell an officer he saw the car she was driving in the driveway at home.
Steven Collier said Debbie Collier “should have been home,” according to the Athens police report.
Debbie Collier takes her driver’s license, her debit card, her Chrysler Pacifica
Investigators have not said if they know when or if Debbie Collier drove away in a Chrysler Pacifica she rented from Enterprise.
Debbie Collier’s daughter, Amanda Bearden, said her mother rented the car because hers was in an accident. Bearden told police her mother’s driver’s license and debit card were the only other possessions she saw missing aside from the rental car.
Debbie Collier sends a Venmo payment, a message to her daughter
FOX 5 Atlanta received the original Venmo transfer from Steve Collier to Amanda Bearden.
Amanda Bearden said she received $2,385 on Venmo at 3:17 p.m. Sept. 10, with the message, “You won’t let me go darling, there’s a key to the house in the blue flowerpot by the door.” Venmo account name is Steve Collier.
Bearden told police the news scared her.
FACEBOOK POST SHOWS DEBBIE COLLIER WITH BLACK EYE AFTER FALL
She tried to call her mother, who didn’t answer the phone.
Debbie Collier has been reported missing in Athens
Disturbing details revealed in the case of Georgia’s stripped, burned and killed mother
Athens-Clarke County Police are revealing more disturbing details surrounding Debbie Collier’s death. She is the woman who was found naked, partially burned, dead and “grabbing a small tree” in the forest.
The Athens-Clarke County Police Department missing persons report said an officer met with Steven Collier on Rocky Drive around 6:08 p.m. on Sept. 10. The neighborhood is near the northern city limits of Athens on Ga. Highway 441.
Bearden and Steve Collier gave police a report on the events of the approximately 27 hours prior – when she was last seen, the Venmo payment and the missing Chrysler Pacifica.
They told police that it was unusual for Debbie to leave without saying anything.
Police said there were no relatives in the area to visit.
Police, police and family attempt to call Debbie Collier’s phone which went straight to voicemail.
The officer reported Debbie Collier missing to the Georgia Crime Information Center, but her family did not know the model year or tag number of the rental car.
The officer told relatives to call 911 if they hear from her. Athens police also attempted to ping her cell phone that night, according to an incident report from Habersham County.
The Tallulah Falls Police Officer sees Debbie Collier’s rental car
The area where investigators found Debbie Collier’s rental car in Habersham County. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
An incident report from the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office states that an officer with the Tallulah Falls Police Department saw Debbie Collier’s rented Chrysler Pacifica on the side of Ga. Highway 15 around 5 pm on September 10th.
The officer said it was customary to drive to the area. The officer may not have been aware that the car was the subject of a missing persons investigation as Debbie Collier’s family were unable to provide Athens Police with details of the car’s model and registration number.
Sirius XM reports the possible location of Debbie Collier’s rental car
Sometime on September 11, a Sirius XM representative contacted the Athens Police Department about the location of Debbie Collier’s car off Ga. Highway 15 in Clarkesville.
Sometime before 12:28 p.m., the representative contacted Habersham 911 Dispatch and explained where the car was. The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office responded to the freeway near the intersection of Victory Home Lane.
Investigators find Debbie Collier’s rental car
A Habersham County sergeant asked the Tallulah Falls police department to help locate the car.
The sergeant found Debbie Collier’s rental car in a “chute” off an old logging road near the location provided by Sirius XM.
A responding Tallulah Falls officer tells a Habersham County deputy about the known car that may have been parked there the night before.
The police prepare to search the woods for Debbie Collier
A memorial stands on the side of the road where the Athenian woman’s body was found. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
Investigators initially requested a K-9 unit from the Lee Arrendale Correctional Institute, which was unavailable.
Law enforcement called on the Georgia State Patrol Aviation team, which said it would respond.
The sergeant asks a deputy to bring a K-9 to assist in the search.
Debbie Collier’s daughter sees the rental car
After the police found the car, Amanda Bearden came. The Athens police had given her the approximate location of the last “ping”.
Bearden “started screaming” that the car belonged to her mother, according to the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office.
Bearden told investigators her mother had no history of mental illness or suicidal tendencies. She said her mother “had a bad back and couldn’t have walked far,” according to the incident report.
Investigators discover Debbie Collier’s body
Investigators in Habersham County where Debbie Collier’s body was discovered.
Habersham County’s K-9 handler arrived at the scene.
Police searched, then an officer noticed a “red tote bag lying on its side next to an uprooted tree.”
The official “appears to be the remains of a fire” near the tree’s root ball.
The officer looked further down the embankment and saw “a partially burned blue tarp” and a “naked woman lying on her back and grasping a small tree with her right hand.”
The officer immediately realized she was dead and identified the body as Debbie Collier.
According to the incident report, the body was burned and “charred” on its abdomen.
At 3:06 p.m., law enforcement established a crime scene and began a log. Habersham County detectives responded.
A tow truck took the car to the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office.
The Habersham County Coroner brought Collier’s remains to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab, and a tow truck took the car to the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators are interviewing people ‘closest’ to Debbie Collier
Law enforcement didn’t specify who investigators interviewed, but said on September 21 they were developing evidence to point to individuals of interest.
Autopsy results were not published.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call investigators at the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, Cale Garrison, at 706-839-0559 or George Cason, at 706-839-0560.
FOX News Digital contributed to this report.
