Man Charged With Killing Ga. Beauty Queen Who Vanished In 2005

OCILLA, GA -- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has made an arrest in a case involving the disappearance of a beauty queen and teacher more than 10 years ago in south Georgia.

Ryan Alexander Duke, 33, has been charged with murder in connection to the disappearance of Tara Grinstead, the agency announced Thursday afternoon.

Grinstead disappeared from her Ocilla home on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2005, and officials immediately suspected foul play. The Ocilla Police Department, along with the GBI and Irwin County Sheriff's Office, launched a "massive search" in an effort to crack the case.

"The search conducted at Grinstead’s home produced very little evidence, making the search for her very difficult," the GBI said. "Many volunteers from the local community came out and assisted law enforcement with the search efforts."

Ocilla is roughly 20 miles northeast of Tifton, the south Georgia town located along the Interstate 75 corridor. According to WSB-TV, Grinstead was a beauty queen who competed in several pageants.

GBI spokesperson Nelly Miles said Grinstead was also a teacher at Irwin County High School when she disappeared. The GBI also confirmed that Duke was previously a student at the same high school where Grinstead taught, but was not enrolled at the time of her disappearance.

Since the woman's disappearance, authorities have conducted several hundred interviews, and hundreds of leads and tips were investigated. They also executed multiple search warrants to no avail.

The GBI has a standing policy that requires all investigative case files, including unsolved cases, to be reviewed several times a year. While Grinstead's disappearance and its investigation was more than 11 years old, the state agency kept the case open and active.

Leads poured into the GBI TIPS line over the years, and each credible tip was "fully investigated and exhausted," it added. However, things picked up steam when the GBI received a tip that led agents to conduct several interviews with individuals who had not been previously questioned.

Information unearthed during these interviews led agents to develop enough probable cause to secure an arrest warrant for Duke.

GBI officials state the investigation remains active, and its agents expect to conduct several more interviews and "investigative acts" over the coming weeks. The search for Grinstead's remains also continue.

Photo: Ryan Alexander Duke. Credit: Georgia Bureau of Investigation