Georgia Police Officer Arrested In Connection With 16-Year-Old Girl’s Death

Miles Bryant, a 22-year-old former police officer for the City of Doraville Police Department, has been arrested for dumping the body of a missing Georgia teenager. According to PEOPLE, Bryant was arrested on suspicion that he moved the teenager’s body into the woods and lied to police about it.

Susana Morales, 16, went missing on July 26, 2022, after she told her mother via text that she was on her way home from a friend’s house. She sent the text at 9:40 p.m., but she never arrived, reported NBC News.

Investigators used surveillance video in the area and the teen’s phone records to establish that she was last known to be walking in the direction of her home. Police think she may have gotten into a car.

Morales was considered missing for more than six months, until a passerby called police to report a sighting of what looked like human remains in the woods near Highway 316 in Doraville, an Atlanta suburb on Feb. 6, 2023, according to USA Today. Police investigators took possession of the human remains, and they were identified as Morales on Feb. 8.

Bryant has been charged with concealing the death of another and the false report of a crime in connection with the teen’s death. According to an arrest warrant reported by the Associated Press, Bryant placed the naked girl’s body in the woods, and he’s suspected of rape, murder, and other offenses against the teenager.

Investigators haven’t yet determined the cause and manner of Morales’s death.

Jasmine Morales, the victim’s sister, said she was happy to learn that there had been an arrest in the case. She told Atlanta News First, "A really hard, final goodbye, and just seeing her being buried is something we didn't want, but we got good news today, so that gave us hope."

The family of Susana Morales has set up a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral and burial expenses. On the page, the family says that this is not the end, and that they will get justice for Susana.