A police officer in Georgia has been apprehended on suspicion of moving the nude body of a missing teenage girl into the woods after her death, and then lying about the incident to the authorities.
Miles Bryant, a 22-year-old from Norcross, has been charged with concealing the death of another and making a false report of a crime in relation to the demise of 16-year-old Susana Morales.
Her remains were discovered more than six months after she was reported missing, according to a press release from the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 13.
Bryant, who was previously employed as an officer with the Doraville Police Department, is currently being held at the Gwinnett Detention Center without bail, as per the authorities. It is unknown whether he has entered a plea or hired an attorney to represent him.
The arrest warrant alleges that Bryant resided “in close proximity to the victim and discarded her unclothed body in the woods,” and he also made a false report to the police that his vehicle was broken into and his firearm was taken, according to the warrant.
Investigators also suspect Bryant of rape and murder, but have not charged him with those offenses, Fox 5 Atlanta reports, also citing the arrest warrant. Bryant and Morales have no known connection or relationship, according to authorities.
Morales had been missing since July 26, 2022. That night, Morales’ family said she texted her mom around 9:40 p.m., saying she was on her way home, according to the sheriff’s office. But, by 10 p.m., she still wasn’t home.
Authorities said a location app on her cell phone showed she was walking along a road in the direction of her house between 10:07 p.m. and 10:21 p.m. Investigators believed she may have gotten into a vehicle in the area.
The data shows her phone last pinged near Oak Loch Trace, where it remained until the phone died or was turned off, according to the sheriff’s office.
She remained missing until her body was found on Feb. 6 near State Route 316. Authorities said they responded to the wooded area around 6:30 p.m. after receiving a call from a passerby who spotted what they believed to be human remains.
The remains were taken to the Gwinnett Medical Examiner’s office, and positively identified as those of Morales, whose cause and manner of death remain under investigation.
Her family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral costs. Her sister, Jasmine Morales, said she’s happy someone was arrested in connection with the case.
“A really hard, final goodbye, and just seeing her being buried is something we didn’t want,” she told Atlanta News First, “but we got good news today, so that gave us hope.”
Doraville police said they learned of Bryant’s arrest on Feb. 13, and referred to him as a “now former police officer.”
“The City of Doraville and its Police Department are fully cooperating with the Gwinnett Police Department in its investigation of Mr. Bryant,” a statement reads, in part. “Our prayers rest with the family and friends of Susana Morales and everyone else affected by this tragedy.”
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