<I><B>This is the second in a series of stories about four cold case murders under investigation by the Hall County Sheriff's Office.</I></B> <br />
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GAINESVILLE - Offers of rewards, photos on billboards, dozens of interviews - all have turned up clues, but nothing conclusive in the murder of Hannah Truelove, a 16-year-old Gainesville High School student found stabbed to death the evening of August 24, 2012.<br />
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Hall County Sheriff's Sgt. Dan Franklin is the lead investigator in the case, and he recounted to reporters at a Monday press conference the details of Hannah's disappearance and the discovery of her body near the Lake Lanier shoreline behind the Lanier Club Apartments off Dawsonville Highway. <br />
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Franklin described Hannah as a "latch-key kid," a child who was used to coming home from school to an empty house because her mother had a job outside the home. Franklin said while Hannah had a history of truancy, she did not have a history of running away, so her mother was concerned when Hannah did not come home the night of August 23, 2012 - a Thursday.<br />
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"She would always come home by dark," said Franklin. "So her mom called at 9:30 to let law enforcement know that she was missing."<br />
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Police responded and searched common paths around the apartment complex and Lake Lanier, according to Franklin, but found no sign of the teen. Witnesses told police they had seen Hannah in a common area of the apartment complex, a grassy area where kids who lived in the complex typically played and hung out, according to Franklin. <br />
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The following day, police went to Gainesville High School to talk with Hannah's friends.<br />
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It wasn't until that Friday night, however, that Hannah's body was discovered by a man who had been visiting his daughter in the apartment complex. Franklin said Dennis Creaseman had been helping his daughter while she recuperated from some surgery, and he decided to get some fresh air and take a walk down to the lake.<br />
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"He took a line through the woods that wasn't an actual trail," said Franklin. "As he walked down, he looked to the left and saw what he thought was a mannequin. Upon further inspection, he realized it was a body."<br />
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Initially, Gainesville City Police handled the investigation because the apartment complex is located within the city limits. But as the investigation progressed, authorities discovered the location where Hannah's body was located was actually in Hall County, so Hall County investigators had to retrace some steps to develop their own evidence.<br />
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Franklin said environmental factors have made the investigation challenging because trace evidence, typically found at a crime scene, was washed away by heavy rain the night of the murder.<br />
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"A lot of times the crime scene will fill in the gaps," said Franklin. "The problem with this scene was the area where Hannah was found - we feel that she was killed there - is in a ravine that is for water run-off for parking lot drainage."<br />
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"Thursday night into Friday morning, it rained about three inches...and so her body was submerged in running water for a period of time and it washed away a lot of trace evidence." <br />
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In fact, Franklin said there was no blood at the scene, despite the fact Hannah had died as a result of stab wounds.<br />
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Franklin said several persons of interest in the case have been looked at and cleared; some have taken polygraph tests and been cleared. <br />
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Investigators are still looking for a silver vehicle that was seen in the area that night, as well. <i>(See linked story below for information the vehicle.)</i><br />
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As is the case with the other murder cases discussed at the Monday press conference, a reward is being offered for information that leads to the killer in the Hannah Truelove murder.<br />
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Anyone who has information on the Truelove case - or any of the other three cold cases under investigation by Hall County - is encouraged to call Sgt. Dan Franklin or Hall County's anonymous tip line at (770)503-3232.<br />
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AccessNorthGa.com will profile three other Hall County cold case murders this week.<br />
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Tuesday, February 11: David Sanchez<br />
Thursday, February 12: Shaun Taylor<br />
Friday, February 13: Holly Strickland<br />
