Murders, Myths, and Mysteries Of Union County

Nov 1, 2024 | Blog

It’s October(Or at least it was when I originally began writing this). And in October, what’s the topic that we are all intrigued by, aside from ghosts and haunted places, that always gets brought to the forefront this time of year? True crime, of course! As I began researching material to put together my project of making interactive murals and finding reading material, I came across so many articles speaking on local Union County true crimes and thought the idea of sharing them in my blog would be a good idea. So, here we are. A couple of these stories are actually already covered with their own videos, newspaper clippings, photos, and additional links on the Gooch & Fifty True Crime Tour, while others aren’t. So, included in the list of stories below will be some stories involving murder. Some stories involve myths. And some stories remain a mystery. Let’s break it down with Union County, Georgia first before moving onto a Georgia and national list!

 

 

 

 

The Mysterious Death of Juanita Harper

Lake Nottely. It’s a beautiful lake with incredible mountain scenery surrounding it. It is often as crowded as any other mountain lake around during the summer months. It’s where many families and friends have hundreds and thousands of memories. However, there is a dark side of the lake’s past that comes with a mystery. One of those mysteries is the death of Mrs. Juanita Harper. As for the version of the story I’ve been told, on April 28th, 1969, 2 local Union County High School students(One that I know personally), decided they would skip school. While skipping school, the 2 boys decided that they’d drive over to the Nottely Dam area. While there, they walked past the spillway of the dam just to find a pretty horrific sight. That was the sight of a deceased woman, Juanita Harper. According to the personal report/story from the eyewitness that I know personally, the victim supposedly had thorns in her feet, but this was also not reported by the AJC in their report either. Of course, knowing this eyewitness personally and knowing that he was a true key witness to the discovery of her body, I’ll take his word for it. The only questions that remain from this story? How did Juanita Harper’s body make it to the spillway? Why would she commit suicide here of all places? Was she so sad and depressed at the time that she took her own life? Was she actually murdered? Hearing that she had thorns in her feet makes me feel as if she was barefoot and had possibly been chased through a wooded area, but then again, that’s only an assumption. What did her autopsy reveal, who was questioned over her death, and what was the outcome from those questioned(If they even were)? The cause of her death remains a mystery to this day. She was only 44 years old and left behind a husband and 2 kids(That I’m aware of at least, via her findagrave link).

 

The Abduction and Murder of Meredith Emerson

January 1st, 2008. It was the first day of a new year. It was a cold, cold day with temperature highs reaching only up into the the lower 40’s, with a cold front on its way. It was supposed to be just another normal New Years Day just like the others that had occurred in Union County through the years, but this one turned dark fast and left a mark on Union County history that will never be forgotten. Earlier on this very day, a young woman by the name of Meredith Emerson spontaneously packed for a hike, loaded up her dog, Ella, and drove from Buford, GA to Blood Mountain where she parked her car in the Byron Herbert Reece Memorial Trail parking lot. This, very unfortunately, would be her last time driving and going for a hike. As Meredith was hiking, she would come across a man named Gary Michael Hilton, who unbeknownst to her, was a serial killer on the loose. Sadly, he managed to kidnap Meredith on her hike, but not without a fight, however, which Hilton later spoke of after being detained. He then took her and her dog to his van and drove away. Once her friends began not hearing from her and were not able to find her, and knew where she was hiking was about to experience a brutal cold front, she was listed as a missing person immediately. Sadly, Hilton eventually ended up taking her life after taking her to Dawson Forest in nearby Dawsonville, GA where her body would eventually be found. Thankfully, however, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the serial killer’s violent killing streak and put him away for good. Hilton immediately became a prime suspect following her disappearance which resulted in his photo appearing everywhere. On January 4th, 2008, Hilton’s soulless self was captured at a Metro Atlanta area gas station where he was attempting to get rid of evidence from Meredith’s murder following a 911 phone call from a man that noticed him from news reports. After his capture, he was found guilty for the deaths of 3 others in the states of North Carolina and Florida. Thankfully, today, he is serving a death row sentence at Union Correctional Institute in Raiford, Florida where he will remain until he dies. Though her life ended short, she left behind a legacy that still loves on today. Her family and friends have founded Right to Hike in her memory which is a non-profit organization that plans to support causes that were close to Meredith’s heart, including hiking safety. For news footage associate with this story, see the following links listed below:

WSB-TV Meredith Emerson Search News Footage

WSB-TV Meredith Emerson Search News Footage 2

11Alive Meredith Emerson Search News Footage

 

The Union County Bank Robbery

The bank that service built. Sound familiar to you? If you bank at United Community Bank, then it should as that is the bank that carries this slogan today. Why is this important to tell? Well, it may not be the most important thing to share, BUT this very bank(United Community Bank) came to fruition from the roots of the bank formerly known as Union County Bank, which is going to be covered in this very story. On June 6th, 1975, employees arrived at Union County Bank like normal, punched their timecards, and began another day of work. Things, however, wouldn’t turn out so “normal” as they usually would like all other days before. The last thing Union County folks think of happening today and even in 1970’s Union County is anything like major crimes, including robbery. Since this very day, however, the possibility of that happening has never been questioned again. One employee that worked here at that time was a woman by the name of Mary Frances Ramsey. She was married to Mr. Clayton Ramsey and was a cashier at the drive-thru window of the bank at the time. This is where the mystery really starts(And I may be missing something that relates to this mystery, so if any of you Union County locals know the answer, please do fill me in). For whatever reason, while the couple was at home, they were targeted by 3 men armed with ski-masks who barged into their home at around 9 P.M. with sawed-off shotguns. From that point, they were held hostage for the night and until the following morning. While in their hostage situation, the couple had their hands taped and their heads covered with pillowcases. The to-be bank robbers then loaded the couple up in their stolen car around 3 A.M. that morning and drove the couple into nearby Cherokee County, NC. Following this point, they left one of the bandits behind in North Carolina with Mr. Ramsey for the soon to be bank robbery and took Frances to the present-day Mike Jones Insurance Agency building which was then Union County Bank at the time. Following their arrival, they forced Frances Ramsey to the task of opening up the bank’s vault to secure what they wanted. That was all $131,000+ that the bank had. From eyewitnesses that I know who worked there at the time, and who still haven’t forgotten about it and who have talked about it with me, the robbers forced each employee in the bank and those who were walking in onto the ground as the robbery was taking place. The robbers secured the money that they were looking to steal and off they went. Unfortunately, for those working in Union County waiting to get paid for their week of hard work, this was also payday, and they didn’t paid on this particular day. Thankfully, though, they left Frances behind at the bank unharmed once they secured the robbery and also released Clayton unharmed not long after in nearby Cherokee County, NC. However, I am not sure if they ever solved the mystery of what the men did with the money. Thankfully though, they did find out who the men were and each of them were eventually convicted and sentenced to prison.

 

The Murder of Jeannie Marie Densberger

This is by far one of the most heinous and saddest crimes to ever happen in the Union County history. One that only happened 35 years ago and one that Union County locals still remember and talk about today. The occurrence of the crime(s) Was on July 29th, 1989. The season of Summer was coming to a close, a new school year was on its way, and kids were about to go back to school. Just like any other day in Union County, any heinous crime wasn’t thought of so much, and no one expected anything like this crime to ever happen. Unfortunately, though, this wasn’t just another “normal” night where murder didn’t happen in Union County. What was supposed to be one of the last weekends of Summer tragically turned into a night of horror. With plans to party for the night, Sandy Densberger took her 11-year-old daughter, Jeannie Marie Densberger, and her younger sister to the mobile home of a friend where she dropped them off. This proved to be a problem, especially given that there was no one babysitting the girls, and of course because in those days, the girls and their mother didn’t just have a cell phone to contact each other on in the case of an emergency like parents and kids do today. A friend and/or potential companion of Sandy Densberger’s was a man by the name of Ronald(AKA Ronnie) Radford, a local electrician. Surprisingly, from what I have been told by others that I know who knew him personally, he was described as a fun, friendly, laid-back guy who just liked to party. From what I’ve gathered from hear-say, from reports from the legal files of the case that I’ve read, and from newspaper clippings, Ronnie was apparently overly intoxicated and on the search for Sandy Densberger’s friend who owned the mobile home that the Densberger sisters were at. According to his own report(One in which he denied any wrongdoing), he arrived to the home at around 8:45 P.M. where he stated that he was at long enough to enjoy a few soft drinks with the girls and enjoyed a beer. However, according to the testimony of the younger sister of Jeannie Densberger, he arrived at the home and around 1 A.M. before proceeding to rape Jeannie Densberger and kidnapping her. Luckily, the younger sister was able to escape the scene, but unfortunately, Ronnie Radford made the decision to go onto kill Jeannie Densberger and ruined his life forever. After killing the young girl, he took her body to a bridge(Which if my memory serves me correctly and from what I was told and shown by those who knew the story, was the bridge at the intersection of Tate Road and John Smith Road just upstream from Nottely Dam). Her body was eventually recovered by a local fisherman. Justice would thankfully and deservedly prevail, and Ronald Dexter Radford was sentenced to death for the crimes of rape, aggravated sodomy, kidnapping, and murder against Jeannie Mare Densberger. Today, it is still believed that he still remains in prison. Which prison that is, however, I do not know.

 

Who REALLY Murdered Reverend John Henry Lance?

This old cemetery can be found just 7 miles south of Blairsville, but going here can be confusing. If you do go, keep in mind that it is located beside a private residence and I would say MAYBE 2-3 cars at the most should visit here at a time. The question is, WHY this specific cemetery? Well, let me tell you why. There is one specific gravesite that belongs to a distant relative of mine from my mom’s side of the family(The Lance Family). The gravesite to look for here will be the gravesite of Rev. John Henry Lance. For those who haven’t checked out Gooch & Fifty’s crime and murder tour videos and have not seen the video relating to the murder of Reverend John Henry Lance, I recommend you to do so to get some background on the story. For those of you who have seen the video, read the book “Blood Mountain Covenant: A Son’s Revenge”, or are familiar with the story, then you’ll know that this is the gravesite of the reverend who was unfortunately and viciously murdered at the hands of vengeful moonshiners from the late 1800’s who thought that this very reverend was not only preaching against them, but who they also thought had turned them in to the feds. As the story goes, he was murdered by a man named Frank Swaim, but if you’ll notice, the grave marker says, “Killed by Fred Canup”. While Fred Canup was believed to have been present at the time of the reverend’s murder and guilty of moonshining, it is truly believed by historical experts on the story that he did NOT kill the reverend. So, how was it determined that Fred Canup was the murderer instead of Frank Swaim? Well, in the article you’ll see seen below, you’ll see that the article was written by a man named Carl J. Wellborn. Carl J. Wellborn was not just any random character to the story and the author of the article, however. In fact, he was the attorney for Frank Swaim, who ended up losing his trial for the murder of Reverend Lance, was found guilty, and was sentenced to prison and into working hard labor in the Dade Coal Mine in Trenton, GA as punishment. Years would pass following the vicious murder of Reverend Lance, and Fred Canup found himself deathly ill. It was during this time that a supposed “deathbed confession” to the murder of Reverend John Lance was made by Fred Canup during Frank Swaim’s time in prison. However, was this actually true, or was it just Fred’s way of helping get his friend out of prison because Fred knew he was dying? According to those I’ve spoken with, this seems to be the case. As the article is titled, “A True Story of the Georgia Mountains”, it makes one who has heard the twists and turns of the story truly wonder just how “true” this story is. However, we will probably never know and will really always wonder of the mystery and question of “Who really killed Reverend John Henry Lance”?

 

Geneva Mae Tarpley: Natural Causes or Murder?

This is one story that has had me intrigued since I heard about it. Why? Not because I have too, too much knowledge or as much information as I’d like to have about the story, but because the cause of death is reported differently than what some believe the actual cause of death may have been. Let’s get the story going so you can see if you’re just as intrigued as I am. The date was October 31st, 1954. It was Halloween and Geneva Mae Tarpley was in her freshmen year at Union County High School. She was the younger sister of a formerly well-known Blairsville attorney and Georgia State Representative, Jack G. Tarpley. Originally, the story I heard was that she was on the school bus this day and dropped off near her home after school. However, when you look up what the actual day of the week this date was, you’ll find that it was Sunday, which means she wouldn’t have been coming home from school on a school bus. Sticking to the original story, though, I was told that as she was dropped off from school, she had just a short walk back to her home. As she was supposed to be walking back home, she never appeared or made it back home. This apparently and obviously caused a panic to her family, who then went out searching for her. Eventually and tragically, they found Geneva deceased nearby. I am told, and can stand to be corrected if this is incorrect, that her death was ruled to be from natural causes. To me, this does sound pretty suspicious, especially given her young age. What I have heard from many that remember this, is that many strongly believe she was murdered, and it was kept hush-hush, and for whatever reason that might have been, I don’t know. When thinking of possible scenarios that could have happened when hearing that it was possibly murder, I do question “Could her brother Jack have went up against someone in court who he beat and who may have wanted to revenge on him?”. Again, that is only theory in mind for me, but something tells me dying from natural causes at 15 years old just isn’t likely. This is one that may remain a mystery forever.

 

 

 

Family Feud: The Murder Of John Francis Duckworth

The exact details regarding this story seem to be a little mixed, as I’ve heard multiple different scenarios for what transpired. For a more basic background, John Francis Duckworth, father to longtime Georgia State Supreme Court Chief Justice, William Henry Duckworth, and his cousin, Jeptha Collins, were said to have some problems. What these problems were, I’m not really sure, but what I do know is that they turned deadly. From locals, the version I have heard was that on Christmas day, there was a turkey shoot going on near Old Liberty Baptist Church, not far from the Duckworth home, and that after the shoot was over, a fight transpired between the 2 men and that Jeptha Collins had shot John Francis Duckworth, murdering him. I also heard the classic “love affair” version that went around. Supposedly, many used to say that Mr. Duckworth was believed to have had a “love affair” with Jeptha Collins wife and that Jeptha Collins shot Duckworth in retaliation. Really, who truly knows though with a story that happened well over 100 years ago? In a newspaper article found from the AJC, their version goes onto say that Jeptha Collins actually called John Francis Duckworth out from his home before shooting him in the back with a double-barreled shotgun, and taking his life, and then going on the run. In 3 different articles, all reward amounts change, starting with $100, then $200, and the one posted with Jeptha’s picture says $300 and is signed by Laura Jane Duckworth, the wife of John Francis Duckworth. Oddly enough, I have heard nothing regarding the ending result of this search for Jeptha. I did just recently hear, however, that years after the murder that Jeptha Collins did come back to Blairsville for the Collins Family reunion and that he ended up in Colorado and then California. I have searched and searched for his grave site online, but have had no luck finding it. The same person who told me this also told me that they remember their grandmother telling them that they remember Jeptha running away through their yard in the Town Creek area following the murder as well. Really, I thought this was pretty cool to hear, and am sure it is true considering the source! How did I find out about this story to begin with you wonder? Well, in the pictures included below, you will see an actual postmortem photo of John Francis Duckworth being held up by a group of men beside his wife. The reason being for this photo I’m told is that back in the day, when some couples didn’t ever have their pictures made, these postmortem photos gave them the chance to have a picture made before one of them was buried. However, I do know that I have seen a photo of the Duckworth family with John Francis included, so, this can’t be the case. One of those men holding him in the photo below is my great-great grandfather, Jim “Cracker” Collins(2nd from the right), my great-great grandmother, Sarah Collins(First on left), and their daughter/my great grandmother, Bonnie Collins Lance, is who wrote the notes related for the picture. I guess I can say this by far the most interesting and wildest photo ever found through my search of old family photos!

 

 

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