Facing the bleak reality that 16-year-old Hannah Truelove has been dead six months, yet her killer is still at large, her mother spoke publicly for the first time this week at a press conference at the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.
Mona Harris’ statement came in conjunction with the announcement that authorities are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Truelove’s death.
Truelove’s body was discovered on Aug. 24 in a heavily wooded area between the apartment complex in Gainesville where she lived and Lake Lanier.
The girl had been stabbed multiple times.
Harris said she longed for someone to come forward and end the family’s nightmare.
“I am haunted by Hannah’s death, as any mother can understand,” Harris said Wednesday, her voice straining with emotion. “Please help my family by coming forward with your information, even if that information is about your son or daughter.”
Investigators are still looking for a late 1990s to early 2000s four-door passenger car, possibly a Dodge or Chevrolet, that may have been in the area of Lake Lanier Club apartments the night prior to the discovery of Truelove’s body. The car was distinctive because it had substantial front-end damage and the driver’s door was a lighter color than the rest of the vehicle.
Whoever was in that car may have information important to the investigation, Hall sheriff’s Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks Wilbanks said.
There are some “persons of interest” in the case. There are also some individuals who have not cooperated with the investigation, Wilbanks said.
A handful of puzzling messages that Truelove sent out on Twitter in the days preceding her death initially seemed like they might be tied in some way to the tragedy . The 16-year-old tweeted on Aug. 12 that she felt pursued by a stalker. The day before she disappeared, the Gainesville High School student also messaged “I need to move out of these dang apartments.”
Wilbanks said none of those messages turned out to be leads.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Hall County Criminal Investigations Division tip line at 770-503-3232 or the GBI tip line at 1-800-597-8477. Tips can be submitted online at http://www.hallcounty.org/sheriff/sheriffcrimetipoff.asp.
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