Minivan find in Dade County, Ga., may end 7-month-old mystery

A vehicle where human remains were found is seen at left near other vehicles under a bluff near the Lookout Mountain hang gliding launch just south of Burkholder Gap Road on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, in Dade County, Ga.
A vehicle where human remains were found is seen at left near other vehicles under a bluff near the Lookout Mountain hang gliding launch just south of Burkholder Gap Road on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, in Dade County, Ga.
photo Justine Creech
photo A vehicle where human remains were found is seen at left near other vehicles under a bluff near the Lookout Mountain hang gliding launch just south of Burkholder Gap Road on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, in Dade County, Ga.

A woman hiking through Dade County, Ga., on Wednesday morning accidentally solved a seven-month-old mystery.

The hiker was on the side of Lookout Mountain, deep in the woods and away from any established trails when she found a battered Town & Country minivan, wedged between an oak tree and an abandoned truck, one that had run off the road some time ago. The van's license plate was registered to Justine "Marie" Creech, who was reported missing in June.

Detective Tim Mitchell, the lead investigator on the case, said the hiker also found human remains next to the van, along with purple pajama pants and a dark shirt. Creech's family said she was wearing those clothes when they last saw her.

Mitchell said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's crime lab will examine the remains and try to make a positive identification based on DNA and dental records.

Creech, a former Dade County school bus driver, went missing the morning of June 4. Her daughter, Sabrina McMath, said she became concerned about Creech the night before she went missing.

Creech suffered from depression, and her doctor had prescribed her a new medication.

"She was in a bad place," McMath said weeks after the disappearance.

In the past seven months, Mitchell received several tips from Dade County residents. He monitored her bank account, pulled cellphone records and dove deep into her Facebook page, looking for clues. He contacted U.S. Customs agents to see if anyone crossed the border with her identity.

He even searched the area where the hiker later found the remains, down a bluff about 500 feet off Burkhalter Gap Road. Mitchell couldn't find anything. He thinks the tree leaves cloaked the wreckage during the summer.

On Wednesday morning, hours before the hiker reported the findings, Mitchell talked to FBI agents about searching deeper through Creech's cellphone records. He wanted geolocation data to see exactly where she took her phone in the months before she disappeared.

He thought he could find a pattern. He thought Creech might have wanted to run away, start fresh. He thought she might have scouted potential new homes.

There was no reason to believe this, Mitchell said. But he was grasping for solutions, just like he examined baseless theories. Was she kidnapped? Did she flee with a lover? There had to be some explanation.

After seeing the remains for himself, Mitchell believes Creech ran off a cliff before her van rolled over several times.

He is relieved to have a conclusion to the case.

"But it is disappointing that we weren't able to bring her back to her family," he said. "You get to know somebody after investigating her so much. It's kind of like losing somebody you know."

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6476.

Upcoming Events