(Paulding County, GA) On Friday October 18, 2013 at approximately 12:53 pm a hunter was scouting an area where he planned on hunting that season when he stumbled upon a grisly scene. The hunter located human skeletal remains in a shallow grave off of Dabbs Bridge Road in the area of Harmony Grove Church Road which is in northern Paulding County. Responding Deputies immediately called in Crime Scene Investigators from the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office as well as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
Once the scene was cordoned off, CSI Detectives began to scour the area in order to search for any other pieces of evidence. Originally, Detectives were unsure as to the identity of the individual but checked with surrounding jurisdictions in reference to active missing person cases. Initially, the remains were analyzed by the GBI Crime Lab in order to determine the cause of death, if the death was a homicide, and how long ago the death occurred.
Approximately six months after the remains were discovered, they were positively identified as those of Ms. Deborah Lee Crawford. This determination was made through rigorous detective work and speaking with numerous law enforcement agencies in the Metro Atlanta area. The GBI Crime Lab also reached out to the University of Tennessee’s (UT) School of Anthropology for assistance. The UT professors were able to use anthropological techniques and processes as well as old dental records to assist with the confirmation on the identity of the remains. The GBI and UT Anthropologists were also able to confirm that Ms. Crawford was murdered and that her body had been buried in the shallow grave in Paulding County for several months. Ms. Crawford is described as a black female who was 41 years old and was a resident of Marietta (Cobb County), Georgia. Ms. Crawford was last seen by a friend on August 19, 2013 at the America’s Best Inn and Suites which is located on the Cassville/White Road Exit of Interstate 75 (Exit 296) in Bartow County.
At this point, Detectives and Agents have exhausted all of their leads and are reaching out to the public for assistance in this case. Crime Stoppers Atlanta has also offered a reward of $2000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) involved in the murder of Deborah Crawford.

If you have any information on this case you can call Crime Stoppers at (404) 577-TIPS (8477) or the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at (770) 443- 3015.