Ex-Police Officer Now Charged With Murdering Missing Teenager Reported Missing In 2022

An ex-Georgia police officer who was previously charged in connection to a missing teen has now had his charges upgraded to murder.

Former Doraville Police officer Miles Bryant has been under investigation for at least a week after the skeletal remains of 16-year-old Susana Morales were found in a wooded area between Drowning Creek and Barrow County. Shortly after Morales’ remains were located on February 6th, Bryant was charged with concealing a death and filing a false report. Now, authorities believe Bryant is the person who killed her. 

Morales had been missing since July 26th, 2022, when she left her home in Norcross at around 6:00 p.m. She walked to the Sterling Glen Apartments to visit a friend, hanging out for about four hours. Around 10:00 p.m., she set out on the short walk back home. Investigators think it was on this walk home that Morales’ had an interaction with Bryant, who also lived in the Sterling Glen Apartments. Bryant killed her sometime between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. on July 27th. Later that day, Bryant reported that his personal gun had been stolen. That weapon was later found near Morales’ remains. 

Morales’ death may have been prevented had Doraville Police taken the complaints from another young woman seriously. Elesha Bates previously reported Bryant for stalking her. The man was even captured on a neighbor’s Ring camera lurking around her apartment and trying to open her front door. On one occasion, he broke into her home while she was away. The 21-year-old filed a report against him with his former employer. However, they only talked to Bryant without taking any further action. 

As of now, a cause of death has not been determined, but Gwinnett County Police Chief James McClure is not ruling out the possibility that the murder was sexually motivated, Fox 5 Atlanta reports.