An unfired round was located near the scene where murdered Georgia mother, Debbie Collier, was found naked and charred after her mysterious disappearance.
According to Fox News Digital, investigators collected the unfired round in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, close to where 59-year-old Collier’s remains were found. An investigator told the outlet that it’s unclear at this point whether the bullet was intended for Collier, who was found deceased on September 11.
“That’s an important piece of evidence, and that’s something [one or more suspects] could’ve dropped on the way out the door,” Former Miami-Dade homicide detective, Pat Diaz, told Fox News Digital.
“It’s not a recreational hunting round that you would find normally in that area. That’s unusual. A hunter’s not using a .223 round, plus…it’s bow season.”
Diaz added that the round could have been meant to force Collier, at gunpoint, to comply.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Collier’s daughter, Amanda Bearden, 36, contacted police on September 10 after she reportedly received a Venmo payment from Collier for $2,385. A cryptic message was attached to the Venmo payment that read, “They are not going to let me go love you there is a key to the house in the blue flower pot by the door.”
Police said at around 3:15 p.m. on September 10, the Venmo payment was sent to Bearden.
Bearden, who reportedly waited several hours before contacting police, said Collier left everything at home aside from her ID and debit card, which contradicts what’s seen on security footage at a Family Dollar store, the last known sighting of Collier.
According to a security video released Monday, Collier walked into a Clayton, Georgia, Family Dollar store on September 10 at around 2:55 p.m. She was seen carrying a large black purse and vehicle keys while wearing a UGA football jersey.
Police say she was seen on security footage buying, in part, a lighter, a tarp, and a bag.
On September 11, police tracked a rental vehicle Collier was using to a wooded area 60 miles away from the family’s Athens home.
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Police scoured the vicinity of the vehicle and found her body and a burned blue tarp in a nearby ravine. She was naked, charred, and deceased, police said. Although the case is being treated as a homicide, it’s unclear how Collier died.
At this time, there is no evidence to suggest or support that this incident was related to a kidnapping,” the Habersham County police said in a statement, according to People.
So far, no arrests have been made and no one has been named a suspect in the killing.
Check back for updates.
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[Featured image: Debbie Collier/Facebook]
