Report: Elderly Canton Woman Finds Noose at Door

The Canton Police Department is investigating an incident in which a noose and profanity-laced letter were found hanging on the door of an elderly woman late last week.

According to an incident report released by the agency, a neighbor called Cherokee County dispatch around 6 a.m. Aug. 8 and reported a noose and note hanging on the door knob of a unit at Lancaster Ridge Apartments on Hickory Knoll Drive.

When the officer arrived onto the scene, he made contact with Sarah Humphries, who lived with her disabled mother Dolly May Humphries in the apartment unit where the noose was discovered.

Humphries told the officer she and her mother were inside the apartment unit since around 8 p.m. the night before, so the noose must have been placed between that time and the time the agency responded to the 911 call.

Canton police took the noose and the note into custody as evidence and are currently investigating the case.

Canton Police Chief Robert Merchant stated his agency takes this issue “very seriously.” Detectives with its Criminal Investigation Section canvassed the neighborhood to generate leads and they were able to identify three other apartment units where similar notes were left, Merchant said.

Those officers will be at a nearby bus stop on Wednesday to question students and parents “in an effort to identify the perpetrator(s) responsible for this crime,” the chief added.

“As with any unsolved crime we would ask for the public’s assistance in bring this criminal activity to a prosecutable resolution,“ Merchant said.

Canton police spokesperson Pacer Cordry added none of the notes contained any remarks about the age, sex or nationality of the apartment residents, he added.

Along with a similar note, one resident told WSBTV she also discovered fecal matter all over her front door and door handle.

Charles Gearing, a relative of Humphries, told WSB “no one had a right to put the noose on her door and this is upsetting me very much.”

“We live in a time we shouldn’t have to put up with that right here,” he stated.

(Photo: this noose and note were found on the door of Dolly May Humphries at her unit at Lancaster Ridge Apartments. Credit: Canton Police Department).