Found Deceased GA - Bud, 69, & June Runion, 66, McRae, 22 Jan 2015 #1 *Arrest*

[dancinunderthemoon]

Quote:

Rsbm:
"Im 50, i would have never gone off to answer an ad, call me paranoid, if' it's not a reputable dealer or someone who knows someone or I pass it for sale on the side of the road, think i'd do without it, some people have just never dealt with sinister individuals (lucky you if that's the case lol) and so they have no paranoia whatsoever, no matter the age and btw, I think i may have said elderly too, for lack of a better term

You're FIFTY!!??!! Just kidding, :wink:

since age seems to be a big deal lol

 

[margarita25]

(Argh, I logged off/turned off my computer and tried to go to bed but I basically just laid there in the dark for a half hour with this awful dark cloud sick empty deeply sad feeling, thinking about what Bud and June might have gone through, what their thoughts were, about their kids and grandkids, and how their kids must be feeling right now, BOTH of their parents..it's a horrible horrible nightmare for this family and my heart breaks for them...its so disturbing all of this, and the longer I'm a member here it doesn't get easier with cases like this imo....re: the posts upstream about a robbery possibly "gone bad", that maybe the intention was not to kill them, well I have little sympathy for that kind of defense or situation because when one consciously chooses to carry out a crime of robbery, there is always the risk that someone might fight back or whatever, and is especially if they brought a weapon during the commission of what they might have intended to be solely a robbery...argh, I mean whether or not this guy was just desperate and trying to feed his kids or whatever, you just don't do things like this expecting any kind of positive result...whoever could harm these people is a monster and I'm sure I will have ZERO tolerance for whatever the excuse/scenario that might be presented. End Rant. Thanks for listening.)

*everything is jmo

 

[margarita25]

since age seems to be a big deal lol

Man, the quotes are getting all screwy...now it looks like I posted that I am fifty in your above post, eta and now in this post it looks like you're saying you're fifty lol...(I corrected it via the quote tags for this post).

I haven't commented on the age stuff, but I'll say imo yes 66 and 69 is definitely senior, elderly, by age standards, but this of course, as mentioned, does not mean they are not sharp as tacks, energetic, etc...some of my best friends are in their seventies and they have all kinds of energy for traveling, etc...they have more energy than me, I'll say that...

 

[Tallula.Belle]

It has bothered me so much since I heard it margarita25. I imagine how excited they were and then wonder at what point they felt things had gone bad. Just makes me sick.

 

[margarita25]

I'm behind a little in the thread still, so maybe someone has already answered, but: Apparently, some of the early media reports characterized the charges as prior ones when they should have said those charges are what he will be facing now, in this case. Don't think there really were any previous/outstanding warrants.

Sadly, I anticipate much more serious charges to follow.

 

[margarita25]

It has bothered me so much since I heard it margarita25. I imagine how excited they were and then wonder at what point they felt things had gone bad. Just makes me sick.

Me too Tallula. I know what you mean, I've been thinking about all that kind of stuff too. I haven't felt this sad/sick in a long time.

Hugs to everyone. I know we are all really disturbed about this. And this is nothing compared to how the Runion family must be feeling. I'll be honest and say I'm not a big "prayer", but I've done some praying in this case.

Eta: if something really bad happened, I just hope it happened fast and as painlessly as possible.
(Argh, even if it was fast, no innocent person deserves their last moments to be something like that...)

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

Very likely so, particularly if they veered off the main path. My step-son goes to school in a nearby county and his bus was bogged down after school on Friday.

But they were expected back home thursday and didn't contact family thursday that they'd be delayed and the rains started thursday night into friday morning and all day friday

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

Man, the quotes are getting all screwy...now it looks like I posted that I am fifty in your above post, eta and now in this post it looks like you're saying you're fifty lol...(I corrected it via the quote tags for this post).

I haven't commented on the age stuff, but I'll say imo yes 66 and 69 is definitely senior, elderly, by age standards, but this of course, as mentioned, does not mean they are not sharp as tacks, energetic, etc...some of my best friends are in their seventies and they have all kinds of energy for traveling, etc...they have more energy than me, I'll say that...

lol, and I concur, some I know older than you and me, have better memories than myself, lol

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

I'm behind a little in the thread still, so maybe someone has already answered, but: Apparently, some of the early media reports characterized the charges as prior ones when they should have said those charges are what he will be facing now, in this case. Don't think there really were any previous/outstanding warrants.

ok, beginning to think I needed reading and comprehension lessons, :thinking: but on one of the most recent videos, I do think it was clarified or stated correctly finally as well

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

I'm not hearing that, somehow...? What exactly did he say about searching in water?

basically just that they had plenty of help in the search including helicopters that can search large areas of land and water, that was all,

and the area of interest is on the river so they can fly the river easily while searching the surrounding land, the officer also said " rough terrain" so helicopters a great help..........

and had asked those with farms to call LE if anything suspicious, a good way to keep on the lookout in addition to the searchers,

 

[margarita25]

(Slightly o/t...You know, one of my students was out of school last week bc his grandmother is on her deathbed with cancer. He knew it was coming, as his parents were really good about communicating with him about all of it appropriately, but he is TORN UP and having a really hard time with it. I've been pretty worried about him. This case here all just goes down so many levels of devastation and people's lives, kids, grandkids...how are the grandkids going to be after all this?

This is all so sickening and should probably be my last post of the night (only after who knows how many posts in this thread, lol) because now I'm starting to get really pissed off. A few minutes ago I was sad, sick, now I'm downright fuming and don't want to start posting nonsense.)

 

[Backwoods]

(Argh, I logged off/turned off my computer and tried to go to bed but I basically just laid there in the dark for a half hour with this awful dark cloud sick empty deeply sad feeling, thinking about what Bud and June might have gone through, what their thoughts were, about their kids and grandkids, and how their kids must be feeling right now, BOTH of their parents..it's a horrible horrible nightmare for this family and my heart breaks for them...its so disturbing all of this, and the longer I'm a member here it doesn't get easier with cases like this imo....re: the posts upstream about a robbery possibly "gone bad", that maybe the intention was not to kill them, well I have little sympathy for that kind of defense or situation because when one consciously chooses to carry out a crime of robbery, there is always the risk that someone might fight back or whatever, and is especially if they brought a weapon during the commission of what they might have intended to be solely a robbery...argh, I mean whether or not this guy was just desperate and trying to feed his kids or whatever, you just don't do things like this expecting any kind of positive result...whoever could harm these people is a monster and I'm sure I will have ZERO tolerance for whatever the excuse/scenario that might be presented. End Rant. Thanks for listening.)

*everything is jmo

Just to be clear, in my own remarks about the perp maybe originally not intending to do physical harm but then things "getting out of hand" -- I wasn't intending that as a "defense" or an excuse. Someone had been pondering what kind of person goes from no criminal record to ... (the poster theorized) murdering an innocent older couple. The "only intended robbery" was just part of a scenario I was suggesting as an answer. Georgia law doesn't accept "well, I only meant to..." as an excuse, either; that's why there's the category of felony murder:

http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/the-crime-of-felony-murder-in-georgia


I'm really bothered by this case, too. Right now I choose to hold out hope that Bud and June Runion are still alive.

 

[josie1986]

hoped i'd wake up to see this guy apprehended. fingers crossed today is that day.

 

[steelman]

Wow ! I got up and made coffee this morning, saw that 8 pages of chatter had occurred overnight, sorta figured they managed to nab this guy overnight. I guess not.

So where do we stand now ? How about a Monday morning recap ?

The Runion's left town on Thursday morning. They drove From Marietta , Ga. to McRae, Ga.. They were expected back on Friday to babysit the grandkids . Friday came and went and no babysitters showed up. Family alerts law enforcement and files missing persons report late on Friday. A search is launched.

Sometime on Saturday, LE manages to interview Ronnie Towns. What led them to him exactly is unknown, but he had a prepaid phone that was shown to be in last contact with the Runions. After interviewing him, they inexplicably let him go without surveillance, a GPS locator, or the ability to track him in any way. The search for the Runions continues.

Sometime on Sunday, the investigators realize that Ronnie Towns version of events isn't adding up and his story is unraveling. They decide it would be a good idea to have another sit-down with Ronnie and ask him a few more questions. Nobody seems to be able to find Ronnie. On Sunday afternoon, they issue two warrants, one for Theft by Deception, one for Lying to Investigators. The search for the Runion's continues, the search for Ronnie Towns begins..........

Does that pretty much cover it ??



Lonnie Towns would have had almost a full 24 hours to cover his tracks from the time the Runions left home, until a search for them began. That's a lot of time to hide evidence.

Bud Runion more than likely brought enough cash with him to purchase the vehicle outright and drive it home. After ambushing them, Ronnie Towns would have taken the cash, which was the whole point of this scheme to begin with.

Ronnie Towns obviously thought he did a good job of hiding them, otherwise why would have have hung around town long enough to be interviewed by LE ? HE thought he had pulled off the perfect crime. Once he realized they were tying him to the Runions through his cell phone, that he was being scrutinized, and that his entire story was B.S. that would soon be exposed.....he took off like a rabbit to parts unknown.

The problem I see in all of this is the amount of time he had to travel down the highway before the warrants were issued, before he was named as a suspect, and before the Highway patrol would've even had a reason to stop him. Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon could equate to 24-30 hours of drive time. His trip of course would be financed by the thousands of dollars that he took from the Runions.

I guess it is possible that he could be hiding somewhere right there local, but it seems unlikely, too many people looking for him now.
The Runions vehicle is probably hidden in a grove of trees or some very thick brush. He basically had a couple of hours on Thursday afternoon to spend with the Runions, doing whatever he did to them and then covering it up. I imagine that is part of the reason that his stories to LE didn't pan out. He probably gave them an alibi for his whereabouts on Thursday afternoon and evening, and that alibi turned out to be false.

How far can you travel in a vehicle in a 24-30 hour window ? Well, at an average speed of 50 miles per hour, somewhere in the 800-1000 mile range sounds about right, maybe further with no sleep. He could have easily made it to Texas, Mexico, Oklahoma before the warrants were issued. I'm thinking he would have headed west or southwest simply to avoid bad weather and slick roads.

I'm a little surprised that LE hasn't advertised publicly what kind of vehicle he is driving, but then again, if Towns got wind of it, he might switch vehicles and complicate things for them.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Ronnie Adrian "Jay" Towns - 28-year-old from the McRae area. He is 6'4", weighs 210 pounds. He has blue eyes and believed to have brown hair. He is known in the community as 'Jay.'

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-...ct-of-missing-georgia-couple-bud-june-runion/
http://www.myfoxal.com/story/279355...onnection-to-disappearance-of-marietta-couple

 

[Sonya610]

I did not mean to insult anyone of any age. Nor was "lose"a good choice of term for what's going on in the brain. I was just pointing out that scientifically as people age, their hinky meter loses some power. Not everyone's brain, of course, but some people just age faster than others due to a multitude of reasons.

Dementia aside it seems most people's traits intensify as they get older. If they were trusting when they were young they become more trusting/gullible as they get up in years, if they were outspoken/opinionated they get MORE opinionated etc...

My lawn man is a Nam vet about Bud's age and he is anything but "soft", he is an avid outdoorsman that stays very active hunting, fishing, operating tractors etc... Age has not made him soft even if it does slow him down a bit physically.

 

[blue mermaid]

I'm not hearing that, somehow...? What exactly did he say about searching in water?

It was along the lines of being able to cover more ground and water during the searches because of other county/agency assistance.

 

[Sonya610]

I guess it is possible that he could be hiding somewhere right there local, but it seems unlikely, too many people looking for him now.

How far can you travel in a vehicle in a 24-30 hour window ? Well, at an average speed of 50 miles per hour, somewhere in the 800-1000 mile range sounds about right, maybe further with no sleep. He could have easily made it to Texas, Mexico, Oklahoma before the warrants were issued. I'm thinking he would have headed west or southwest simply to avoid bad weather and slick roads.

I'm a little surprised that LE hasn't advertised publicly what kind of vehicle he is driving, but then again, if Towns got wind of it, he might switch vehicles and complicate things for them.[/B]

If he is still in the McRae area he is holed up and not moving. The whole county is keeping an eye out for him and rural folks are VERY observant.

At the risk of sounding biased, most rednecks would gravitate to places they know. They would not be likely to run off to Mexico or Oklahoma or another far off "strange" place. If he is on the run I would think Florida is a good possibility, or any other areas of the South that he is familiar with.

One would think the authorities would publish info on his vehicle (unless he doesn't have one or they have found it). Maybe he is driving the Runion's car, they did put an alert out for that.

 

[jking]

Me too Tallula. I know what you mean, I've been thinking about all that kind of stuff too. I haven't felt this sad/sick in a long time.

Hugs to everyone. I know we are all really disturbed about this. And this is nothing compared to how the Runion family must be feeling. I'll be honest and say I'm not a big "prayer", but I've done some praying in this case.

Eta: if something really bad happened, I just hope it happened fast and as painlessly as possible.
(Argh, even if it was fast, no innocent person deserves their last moments to be something like that...)

This has bothered me too. I've felt sick since I heard there was a suspect, that's when I felt for certain there was no hope left of them being ok. I am following the Facebook page and I can only imagine how their family must be feeling. All of their friends and loved ones. Just so sad

 

[alsleuther]

I agree. I also think it's possible that this may not be a case of him obtaining the burner to do the crime -- it may just be his "regular" phone. He may not be as savvy as we've supposed at points.

I'm beginning to think this is the case also. The way they tracked it to him so quickly, maybe this was just his everyday phone. My guess is drugs (meth) and a get rich quick scheme and probably an accomplice. I think Bud probably showed up armed and that's when the robbery went wrong. I live in Marietta, GA and last week was in a room full of women at church and someone asked by a show of hands how many people in the room had firearms and about 15 out of 30 did. Even the women in the south carry guns and most certainly would take it to a Craigslist meeting in south Georgia.