Foul play is suspected in the disappearance of a Franklin County mother missing since the end of January, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Friday.
The GBI was brought in this week to help the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office find out what happened to Bonny Anne Cooner of Canon, who was last seen on Jan. 28 and reported missing by family members the following day.
“As a result of investigative efforts, it is believed that Ms. Cooner is the victim of foul play and in all likelihood has not disappeared of her own free will,” the GBI said in a statement Friday.
The agency added, however, that an exhaustive investigation is expected “to yield significant assistance in the search for Ms. Cooner as well as identifying responsible parties.”
The statement did not provide any additional information on the “responsible parties.”
Family and friends have created a Facebook page and have posted notices on Craigslist, pleading for information on Cooner’s whereabouts.
The blue-eyed, brown-haired, 5-foot-5 woman with multiple tattoos was last seen by her fiancé and her 12-year-old son. The GBI said the fiancé, Brent Shubert, has been questioned, but the agency has not said he is a suspect in Cooner’s disappearance.
The GBI said law enforcement officials have conducted multiple interviews of possible witnesses, family, friends and associates. The agency said the interviews have provided a detailed picture Cooner’s public and private life, her routines, habits and relationships. Her financial records, computer and cellphone have also undergone forensic examinations, the GBI said.
“Sheriff’s deputies, GBI agents and crime scene specialists have completed exhaustive and detailed examinations of Ms. Cooner’s residence, vehicles and other locations frequented by her,” the GBI said in a statement.
Shubert told CBS Atlanta he last saw Cooner at home on Jan. 28 with her 12-year-old son, who was having a friend over for a sleepover. He said he left for work and received a text from Cooner later that day telling him supper was on the table. When he arrived home later that night he said he went to bed without seeing Cooner. When he woke up the next day, he told the TV station he did not see his bride-to-be. He said he contacted her family and her family called the sheriff’s office.
Shubert told CBS Atlanta Cooner had been “emotional - highs and lows the past several weeks.” He also said “a lot of people have been looking to me to give answers and I can’t.”
Cooner’s Facebook page — “Please help find Bonny Anne Cooner” — has photos of the smiling animal lover and postings by worried friends and family. One photo shows her with her Doberman Pinscher at a Labor Day weekend dog show last year, others show her with horses. There are also several photos of Cooner in a wedding gown with a bouquet in her lap.
A poem signed “To Bonny from her big sisters,” ends with: “Sister stand tall, give them your all, you deserve much more than they’re giving. Sister stand tall, sister be strong, your older sisters are believing in you.”
Cooner was last seen wearing a black tank top and blue jeans.
Anyone who has information is asked to contact the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at 706-384-2525 or the GBI at 800-597-8477.
About the Author
