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Car’s missing bumper could hold clues in disappearance of Fort Valley State student

As the search for a missing Fort Valley State University student entered its fourth day Tuesday, law enforcement officials scouring Peach County for signs of the student say a missing bumper from her car could yield clues to her whereabouts.

The student, 23-year-old Anitra Gunn, a senior agriculture major from Atlanta, was last seen the morning of Feb. 14 at a friend’s relative’s house on the north side of Fort Valley.

Her Chevy Cruze was later found in Fort Valley a block or so from her apartment.

J.T. Ricketson, a GBI agent in charge of the Perry field office, said Tuesday the car’s white front bumper was missing, and wasn’t thought to have been missing when she was last seen on Valentine’s Day morning.

He said finding the bumper — whether it is lying along a roadside or elsewhere — could help investigators piece together clues to what led to Gunn’s disappearance.

“It might lead us to another clue as to what happened,” Ricketson said.

He said the GBI is also helping track down other leads involving people who Gunn may have come in contact with in the hours and days before she vanished.

Ricketson said investigators have heard about a party that Gunn attended Thursday night. Law enforcement officials were trying to find out whether anyone there might have a connection to the probe.

“We’re running down leads as quickly as we can,” Ricketson said.

Fort Valley police are leading the search with help from numerous agencies in the midstate region.

Ricketson said investigators were also inspecting Gunn’s cellphone records, but did not elaborate.

Joe Kovac Jr.
The Telegraph
Joe Kovac Jr. writes about local news and features for The Telegraph, with an eye for human-interest stories. Joe is a Warner Robins native and graduate of Warner Robins High. He joined the Telegraph in 1991 after graduating from the University of Georgia. As a Pulliam Fellowship recipient in 1991, Joe worked for the Indianapolis News. His stories have appeared in the Washington Post, the Seattle Times and Atlanta Magazine. He has been a Livingston Award finalist and won numerous Georgia Press Association and Georgia Associated Press awards.
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