Bud and June Runion, the Georgia couple who went missing after meeting a man they met on Craigslist, have been confirmed dead and Ronnie ‘Jay’ Adrian Towns is now being charged with their murder.

Bud And June Runion Found Dead

Bud and June Runion were reported missing on Friday, Jan. 23 after traveling from their Atlanta home to meet with Towns, who contacted the couple through a Craigslist ad they posted looking for a 1966 Mustang. Runion, 69, and June, 66, were last heard from on Thursday.

After a multi-day search, local authorities of the Telfair County Sheriff’s Department discovered remains in the woods on Monday after finding their car in a body of water. An autopsy was conducted on Tuesday and confirmed that the remains belonged to the Runions. The cause of death was determined as gunshot wounds to the head.

Jay Towns Charged With Murder

Police announced that they are charging Towns with the murder of the Runions. Towns turned himself in on Monday after police issued a warrant for his arrest. Towns was the last person to communicate with the Runions. Police say he used a disposable cell phone to contact Runion, claiming he had a 1966 Mustang to sell him. “Early on in the investigation, we did contact Mr. Towns, and we did interview him and by the information he provided, we found it to be false and deceptive,” Telfair County Sheriff Chris Steverson said on Monday.

The Sheriff revealed that their investigation of Towns revealed that he does not appear to be in possession of a 1966 Mustang, adding, “We feel like he was at least intending to defraud Mr. Runion of any funds that he may have brought down.”

Towns is being charged with murder and armed robbery.

“I’m confident that Mr. Towns is involved. This is not the outcome we had hoped for, but obviously it’s the one we have to deal with,” Steverson told reporters.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.