MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — Gabby Dixon has been missing for nearly nine months. On Wednesday, family members say they were told her body was discovered near a construction site in Monroe County.
According to a press release from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a call on Hwy 87 and Bowdoin Road about skeletal remains being found.
When they got there, construction workers led them to a wooded area. The remains were sent to the GBI Crime Lab for identification., according to the release.
A person of interest, 19-year-old Jatarvius Price, was arrested and taken into custody by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
Price was arrested on November 17 and charged with making false statements and tampering with evidence. He made bond on those charges on November 18.
On Wednesday, Price was transported to the Bibb County Jail and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Warrants for Reginald Harris were served on Wednesday at the Bibb County Jail for the murder of Dixon.
13WMAZ talked to Gabrella Searcy, mother of Gabriella Dixon, and she says her family was notified around 2:30 p.m.
Searcy says based on the red hair color and clothing on the remains, they were “99% sure” the remains were Gabby’s.
The family said they were told it appeared she may have been shot in the head.
In October 2023, the Bibb County Sheriff's Office said Dixon's disappearance could be a homicide but they were still looking for evidence.
Dixon was last seen on Oct. 30. The next day, her family started raising concerns and asking questions.
A month before Gabriella Dixon disappeared, warrants say the father of her children, Reginald Harris, choked her, pointed a gun at her and threatened to kill her.
13WMAZ has been following the case.
To help keep track, here is a look at what has happened before and after Dixon’s disappearance on Oct. 30, which has left her family waiting for answers on where their daughter is.
Timeline:
Sept. 3: According to arrest warrants, the father of Dixon’s children, Reginald Harris, is accused of shooting at Dixon, her boyfriend and her children as they were driving on Old Clinton Road. Dixon then drove all the way to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
Sept: 23: Dixon accuses Harris of choking and pointing a gun at her in their downtown apartment, the arrest warrant shows. The warrant said that Harris threatened to kill her if she left him.
Oct. 17: Reggie Dixon saw his daughter for the last time. After her disappearance, he said: "Tell us where she's at, please. It's time to bring Gaby home. It's time for a little peace for her.”
Oct. 30: Three weeks after Harris threatened Dixon, Gabby Dixon goes missing. In an incident report, Dixon’s daughter told her grandmother “Momma was in blood,” but her older grandchild said, “It was okay, Momma is sleeping.” The family accuses Harris of “acting very suspicious about the incident.”
Oct. 31: Sheriff's Office deputies responded to Gaby's missing person's report. They said that she was last seen the day before at around 6 p.m. by her brother. Deputies then went to Dixon's new address and found "no indication that a crime had been committed at this location." They also looked at Dixon and Harris' place and couldn't find her. The Sheriff's Office issued a be-on-the-lookout for Dixon, and passed along information to the sheriff's office public affairs team.
Nov. 1: One day later, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office asks for the public’s help locating Dixon. They describe her as 5 feet 1 inches and weighing around 144 pounds. They say she was last seen in the 1900 block of Pine Hill Drive.
Nov. 7: Harris, who was considered a suspect in Dixon’s disappearance, was arrested on separate family violence charges, according to jail records.
Nov. 8: Harris made his first appearance in Bibb Superior Court before Jerome Sinclair on the family violence charges. Harris faces five counts of aggravated assault, one count of battery and one count of terroristic threats.
Nov. 16: Another man, Jatarvius Price, was arrested ‘in connection’ to Dixon’s disappearance. He was charged with making false statements and tampering with evidence, but it is unclear what role he played in the case. According to an indictment in Bibb County Superior Court, they accuse Price of tampering with a mattress.
Nov. 17: Three weeks after her disappearance, Dixon's family holds a rally in downtown Macon. Dixon's mother, Gabrella Searcy, is running out of answers to Dixon's daughter's questions about where their mother is: "Layla just turned three, and she asks for her mother daily. She didn't come to the birthday party. 'Nana, where is Gaby? Where is my mommy?" Her most common answer is that Gaby is at work.
Dec. 2 - Dixon's family organized a search party across Macon, ranging from Carolyn Crayton Park to the Ocmulgee River Trail. Searcy said it is a continuation of what the family has already been doing: "We're doing what we've been doing for the past 32 days now, searching."
Jan. 8: Court records show Harris and Price were both indicted on tampering with evidence charges for "knowingly conceal physical evidence, to wit: a foam mattress and fabric covering." They say it was in connection to an aggravated assault.
Jan. 23: Other court records in the Bibb County Superior Court show a grand jury officially indicted Harris on two counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, terrorist threats and battery charges. None of them were connected to Gaby's disappearance, and instead previous cases of family violence.