Mike Ayers, special agent in charge of the GBI’s Athens regional office, said the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office asked his agency on Tuesday to assist in the case of 33-year-old Bonny Anne Cooner.
Cooner, who once lived in Athens, was reportedly last seen at her home in Canon, where she left behind her son and car, authorities said.
Ayers said it was too soon to draw any conclusions about the circumstances of the woman’s disappearance. “I’d be guessing about whether we have a crime or just a missing person,” Ayers said Wednesday afternoon.
GBI agents met with Franklin County investigators Tuesday to share notes. They started on Wednesday assisting with the investigation in earnest, conducting interviews and other activities, Ayers said.
Franklin County sheriff’s officials have not returned several phone calls to discuss the search for Cooner, but some Facebook postings have given the missing person case ominous overtones. On a page called “rants or raves of elberton ga,” people who say they know Cooner suggested the possibility of foul play.
Ayers said he was aware of Internet postings about the missing woman, but would not say if they had any credence.
