Coffee County Sheriff’s authorities released more information Saturday night regarding the case of missing teenager Paige Tanner. As it turns out, she was never really missing at all.
Officials stated that Coffee County deputies were dispatched to Heidi Lane Thursday afternoon in reference to a missing person. The deputy was advised by the complainant that she and her daughter had gotten into a verbal argument earlier in the day, and the daughter had left the residence driving a 2005 Chevrolet truck. The mother stated she had not been able to make contact with the daughter by phone or through friends. The daughter was identified as 17-year-old Dionna Paige Tanner. The mother provided a description of what Tanner was last seen wearing, and the deputy wrote a report and entered Tanner into the Georgia Crime Information Center as a missing person.
Around 6 p.m. Friday, a Coffee County deputy responded to the Gate store on the Bowens Mill Rd. in Douglas and met with Tanner’s father. Tanner had been seen on the previous evening getting fuel at the store, where she was captured on video. The video also showed a white male in the vehicle in the truck that Tanner was driving, but he could not be indentified.
Just before 8 a.m. Saturday, deputies responded to a field off Quincy Batten Rd., where the land owner observed a truck in the field and reported it to 911 as possibly being Tanner’s vehicle. Deputies arrived at the location and found the truck locked.
Deputies obtained owner information through 911 and identified the vehicle as belonging to Tanner’s step father. Entrance was gained and, once inside the vehicle, deputies and detectives found the keys in the ignition, along with Tanner’s purse and a cell phone.
As the investigatin continued, deputies and detectives obtained Information about a male subject that Tanner was possible with, which led them to a residence on Marv Day Rd. at around 11:30 a.m. Initially, authorities were unable to make contact with anyone at the location. They gained additional information that the father of the male subject was working at a nearby farm and, after making contact with the him, were soon able to gain entry to the residence.
Once inside, Tanner was found with the male subjected, identified as 20-year-old Adam Lucas. Both subjects were transported to the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, where Tanner was turned over to her parents.
Lucas received a citation for contributing to the delinquency of a minor and was released.
“I would like to thank the local media and citizens for getting the information out and the deputies and detectives that worked so hard to locate Ms. Tanner,” Sheriff Doyle Wooten stated. “Together, we continue to make a positive difference in our community.”