GAINESVILLE, Ga. — A Rabun County murder suspect was arrested after an hours-long manhunt in Hall County Tuesday afternoon.
The Hall County Sheriff's Office announced that a K-9 spotted Keegan Phillips. The 23-year-old was taken into custody on Bryant Quarter Road, according to the sheriff's office.
Multiple agencies searched for Phillips in the Gillsville area Tuesday afternoon. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation also stepped in to assist local authorities with the search which involved K-9s, drones and a wide perimeter, as depicted by 11Alive's Cody Alcorn.
Phillips was described as being 5'8" and weighing 170 pounds. Additionally, authorities said he has blue eyes, dark brown hair, and visible scars on his neck and face. The sheriff's office describes him as "disheveled and dirty."
He walked out of the woods in handcuffs around 7 p.m. Keegan was hitchhiking out of the area, according to the driver who picked him up, unaware that he was a suspect.
In an update Tuesday night, the GBI said a 62-year-old man was also arrested and charged with concealing a death and the unlawful disposal of a body in connection to the same murder investigation.
The GBI said on Sunday its regional investigative office in Cleveland was requested by the Rabun County Sheriff's Office to help with the investigation.
The sheriff's office told the GBI it had received a tip about a man who was killed and his body was disposed of in the county. Agents and deputies found the victim on Monday in the Chattahoochee - Oconee National Forest, the GBI said. Authorities have not yet released the identity of the victim.
After an extensive search Tuesday in the area of Gillsville Highway, authorities found Phillips and arrested him without incident. Phillips is being held at the Rabun County Detention Center.
The GBI said its investigation remains ongoing. Once the case is finished, the GBI said it will be given to the Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
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