Search for missing college student from Fulton County enters another day

Anitra Lashay Gunn

Credit: Courtesy Krissy Musallam / Fort Valley Department of Public Safety

Credit: Courtesy Krissy Musallam / Fort Valley Department of Public Safety

Anitra Lashay Gunn

It has been nearly four days since anyone saw Anitra Gunn, and the 23-year-old college student is still missing Tuesday morning.

Gunn, a senior at Fort Valley State University and a graduate of Westlake High School in south Fulton County, was last seen Friday at 11:30 a.m. in a neighborhood north of the city of Fort Valley. She spoke to her father by phone on Valentine’s Day and has not answered any calls or texts since, according to the Fort Valley Department of Public Safety.

On Monday, the Georgia State Patrol aviation unit flew over several areas near the university, scanning the ground for signs of Gunn, but their search turned up empty.

India King believes she is one of the last people to see Gunn. She drove her friend to a party Thursday night but left early, leaving Gunn to get a ride home with someone else, King told AJC.com.

“She has never went days without calling or texting either me, her father or other friends and family members,” King said in a message. “Anitra has a cat and a dog we share who currently lives with her. She has never went days without feeding them, letting them out or scheduling with someone else to do so. All red flags that make us more concerned on her whereabouts.”

Authorities checked her apartment and did not notice any signs of a break-in. No one was inside and nothing appeared damaged or out of place, police said.

On Saturday afternoon, Gunn's car was found in a yard at a house off Belle Street, which is near her apartment, according to police. Her father, Christopher Gunn, said the vehicle's front bumper was damaged and that her wallet was in the car, Macon news station WMAZ-TV reported.

Authorities found the car at a house near her apartment. The vehicle’s front bumper was damaged.

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The GBI took her car for processing but has not said what agents found inside.

Christopher Gunn said police told him that his daughter’s phone was found somewhere else, but they did not tell him where, WMAZ-TV reported.

Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese told the news station that deputies were also searching the house of her boyfriend's aunt, which was the last place she was seen. He did not know if the man is her current or ex-boyfriend. The man has not been implicated in her disappearance.

On Monday, a task force was created by Fort Valley police and the Peach County Sheriff’s Office to assist in the search.

“One of the historical problems with investigation of cases that span multiple jurisdictions has been that the investigations are often haphazard, disjointed, and frequently done in ignorance of the individual agencies’ investigative acts and other agencies’ previous investigations involving the victim,” Fort Valley Director of Public Safety Lawrence Spurgeon said in a news release. “We have formed this task force in order to alleviate any of those issues.”

Anitra Gunn is described as 5-foot-7 and 165 pounds. King said she was last seen wearing an olive green bomber jacket with black trim, a tan long-sleeve shirt and a skirt. She was also wearing a shoulder-length wig parted in the middle that King described as wavy.

According to police, Gunn was last seen in the area of Chestnut Hills Road.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Fort Valley Police Department at 478-825-3384.

— Staff writer Chelsea Prince contributed to this article.

23-year-old and Fort Valley State student Anitra Gunn hasn't been seen or heard from since Valentine's Day.