Pickens County Woman’s Son Found Dead: Third Suspect Nathan Mark Neighbors Apprehended in Floyd County

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The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office has apprehended murder suspect Nathan Mark Neighbors who was on the run from law enforcement in connection with the apparent murder of John Wesley Wood of Calhoun, Georgia.

Earlier this week, the Gordon County Sheriffs Department located what is believed to be the body of John Wesley Wood Jr. Wood is the son of Picken’s county resident Sherry Ainsworth.

Now, three individuals have been apprehended in connection with Wood’s apparent murder.
The full press release from Gordon County Sheriff’s Office delivered on Monday read:

On Monday, July 28, John Wesley Wood, age 22, of 373 Baker Road, Calhoun, was reported missing to the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office by his family. They reported that Wood was scheduled to leave Calhoun to return to Arkansas to live with his father. They also reported seeing two suspicious men and a suspicious vehicle at Wood’s apartment on July 24, the last day that Wood was seen. A witness had seen the suspicious men and vehicle, and copied down a license plate number. Wood’s apartment was searched by deputies, who found no signs of a struggle inside or any other signs of violence. Neighbors were questioned as witnesses, family members were questioned for any potential leads, social media outlets were explored, investigative detectives requested intelligence reports from the GBI, and Mr. Wood was entered into the nationwide GCIC database a missing person.

Detectives were following the lead on the license plate, which was from the metro Atlanta area, Friday afternoon, Aug. 1, when a witness came forward with information which led deputies to believe that foul play could’ve been involved in Wood’s disappearance. This information developed into a number of other independent leads rapidly, and teams of detectives were deployed to follow each one. A GBI agent was also requested and assigned to assist the sheriff’s detectives. About two dozen potential witnesses were identified and questioned over the course of the next 48 hours. Late Friday night, a “person of interest” was arrested near a private residence on Craigtown Road by undercover deputies who’d been surveilling the home for several hours. This individual at-tempted to flee and resist arrest, but was apprehended and incarcerated. Several items of physical evidence were also located and collected.

Saturday, Aug. 2, sheriff’s detectives continued interviewing potential witnesses and running down leads.
Sunday evening, Aug. 3, a potential witness contacted the sheriff with fresh information which was soon corroborated by other statements and physical evidence which was known to the detectives and GBI agents.

At approximately 1 a.m. Sunday morning, Aug. 4, deputy sheriffs located a badly decomposed body in a heavily wooded area just off a field road on a local farm in north-western Gordon County. The sheriff’s office and the GBI have reason to believe that the body is that of John Wesley Wood Jr., although positive identification is pending examination by the GBI State Crime Laboratory in Decatur. Investigating detectives and GBI agents believe that Wood was killed during the late hours of Thursday, July 24, or the very early morning hours of July 25.

This morning, the Gordon County sheriff’s air unit located Wood’s missing pickup truck in a remote area in southern Whitfield County. The truck has been removed and taken to the sheriff’s office where it will be examined for evidence.

Crime scene technicians from both the sheriff’s office and the GBI are today executing search warrants at multiple locations where they expect to identify and collect additional physical evidence.

As of this time, Nathan Michael Mahan, 29, of 708 Lick Creek Road, Ranger, has been charged with murder, robbery, parole violation and obstructing law enforcement officers and Lelion L Siskey, 28, of Craigtown Road, Calhoun, has been charged with murder in connection with this investigation.

Deputy sheriffs and GBI agents are still seeking Nathan Mark Neighbors, age 22, date of birth Oct. 10, 1991, who is 6-feet-1-inch tall and weighs 150 pounds. He has short, brown hair, green eyes and multiple tattoos, including two teardrop tattoos near his left eye. Neighbors is wanted on murder and robbery charges.

If he is seen, call 911 immediately.

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