MCRAE-HELENA, GA — Nearly a decade after the murders of Bud and June Runion, a magnet fisher’s discovery has led to new evidence in the 2015 Telfair County double homicide, authorities confirmed.
On April 14, 2024, a citizen magnet fishing in Horse Creek on Old Prison Camp Road uncovered a .22 caliber rifle, believed to be linked to the case. Days later, on April 16, the same individual found a bag containing the Runions’ driver’s licenses, credit cards, and a cell phone thought to belong to the couple.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and Telfair County Sheriff’s Office responded swiftly, executing two search warrants at a residence on Webb Cemetery Road in McRae-Helena on April 17 and April 19. Investigators recovered additional evidence, which has been sent to the crime lab for analysis.
The murders occurred in January 2015, when Ronnie Jay Towns lured the Runions—Bud, 69, and June, 66—under the pretense of selling a 1966 Ford Mustang through a Craigslist ad. Instead, it was a ruse to rob and murder the couple. Towns was arrested days after their disappearance and later indicted on charges of murder and armed robbery.
This week, Towns was convicted in the case due to the evidence brought earlier this year.