SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Police have arrested two suspects in connection to the missing persons case of Morgan Bauer, a 19-year-old woman from Aberdeen, who went missing in Georgia in 2016.
The Porterdale Police Department in Georgia posted on Facebook Saturday, August 5 that Jonathan Alexander Warren was arrested in Los Angeles. He has felony charges for murder, aggravated assault, concealing death and a misdemeanor for tampering with evidence.
Katelyn Goble was also arrested in Peoria, Illinois, for concealing death and tampering with evidence.
“The first thing that has to get done is getting them extradited back to Georgia,” Randy McGinley, the Newton County District Attorney, said. “Once they’re here, they will be booked in on those charges and within about 48 hours there’s a first appearance hearing.”
At the first appearance hearing, the suspects will appear in front of a magistrate judge where they will be read their charges, discuss potential bail and set a preliminary hearing date which is usually between five to seven weeks after booking, McGinley said.
As the investigation is still ongoing, police won’t share how Warren and Goble knew Bauer or ended up in different states.
The arrests come after new information led to a search warrant of a property on July 27. The Porterdale Public Information Officer Sgt. Michael A. Walden said the search resulted in “items of evidentiary interest.”
Bauer moved to Georgia from Aberdeen seven years ago to search for a new life. She answered a Craigslist ad for a housekeeper and roommate. However, the situation didn’t end well and Bauer got a job dancing at a club in Gainesville.
It was originally believed that Bauer was last seen after work on February 25, 2016, but a social media video was posted to her account on February 26. Her family and friends have not heard from her since.
Sherri Keenan, Bauer’s mom, runs the Facebook page, Missing Morgan, to update people about her case. KELOLAND News reached out to Keenan for comment, but she was unable to respond due to the investigation.
“While we are so grateful that arrests have been made, this is an ongoing investigation. We must move moment by moment,” Keenan said in a Facebook post. “We do not want to risk harming her case or misinformation being shared here or in the small, but beautiful Porterdale, GA community.”
