Putnam County investigators do not believe the death of an 88-year-old man and his wife’s disappearance are random acts, the county’s sheriff said Wednesday.
“I do not believe this to be a random attack and I base that on several things,” Putnam Sheriff Howard Sills told Channel 2 Action News. “No evidence of forced entry or struggle or things like that.”
Friends went to the Great Waters home of Russell and Shirley Dermond on Tuesday morning and found Russell Dermond dead, Sills told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The gated subdivision is part of Reynolds Plantation, the Lake Oconee resort community.
Sills said Russell Dermond was the victim of a homicide. But he declined to release details about how police believe the man was killed.
Shirley Dermond, 87, was nowhere to be found, Sills said.
“We’re operating under the assumption since her husband’s demise is definitely a homicide, that she has been abducted,” Sills said.
He said the crimes occurred sometime between Friday and Sunday.
A weapon was not located, but the couple’s cellphones, Shirley Dermond’s purse and other valuables were found in the home, police said.
The community has security guards at its gates. But police said the Dermonds’ home is on the water and is accessible by boat.
Shirley Dermond is about 5-foot-2 and weighs 148 pounds. She has gray hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 706-485-8557.
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