text: McRAE, Ga. -- A Georgia couple who vanished after embarking on a road trip to buy a car have been found dead, and both victims were shot in the head, officials say. 
   
   The two bodies found in the search for the couple were positively identified Tuesday as Elrey "Bud" Runion and his wife, June E. Runion, according to a statement posted on Facebook by the Telfair County Sheriff's office. The man who was initially charged with making false statements in the case, Ronnie Adrian "Jay" Towns, is now facing charges of murder and armed robbery, according to the statement. 
   
   Towns was set to be arraigned later Tuesday at the Telfair County Courthouse. 
   
   Bud Runion posted an ad on the website Craigslist Jan. 19 that he was seeking to buy a 1966 Mustang convertible, and three days later, he and his wife - both in their 60s -- set out for a small farming community in southern Georgia to meet with a potential seller. Then they vanished. 
   
   Police told CBS Atlanta they believe Towns was the person who answered that ad and said he had a car for sale - a car authorities now believe didn't exist. They told the station he likely lured the couple for cash. 
   
   In Telfair County, about a three-hour drive south of the Runions' suburban Atlanta home, days of searching by authorities and volunteers ended Monday with a grim discovery and an arrest. Sheriff Chris Steverson said the couple's SUV had been found in a lake a few miles outside McRae, a tiny city of 5,700 about 80 miles southeast of Macon. 
   
   Searches discovered two bodies - a man and a woman - nearby, now identified as the couple. 
   
   The same day the authorities found bodies, investigators arrested the 28-year-old Towns of McRae on charges of giving false statements to authorities and criminal attempt to commit theft by deception. 
   
   The sheriff said a cellphone used to make the last known contact with the Runions had been traced to Towns. He said the young man turned himself in Monday accompanied by family members. 
   
   "For now, he's the only subject we are seeking," Steverson said. 
   
   The Runions' daughters reported them missing last week after they didn't show up to babysit their grandchildren. 
   
   They told WSB-TV their parents left home with their cellphones and chargers, but no one had heard from them since 3:30 p.m. Thursday. 
   
   "If someone has taken them, we have forgiven that person, because God tells us to love and forgive," daughter Virginia Owens said before her parents' vehicle was located. ||||| MCRAE-HELENA -- A Telfair County man was charged with murder Tuesday in the slayings of a Marietta couple last week. 
   
   Telfair County Magistrate Judge Bryan Selph denied bond for 28-year-old Ronnie Jay Towns during a hearing late Tuesday afternoon. Afterward, Towns was taken to the Dodge County jail in Eastman. 
   
   I didnt do it, Towns said softly as deputies led him into the courtroom for his hearing. 
   
   Towns is charged with killing Bud Runion, 69, and his wife, June, 66, Thursday after he allegedly lured the couple to Telfair County through a response to a Craigslist ad. Bud Runion had been looking to buy a 1966 Ford Mustang convertible, but Towns answer to the ad was a ruse, authorities said. 
   
   Telfair County Sheriff Chris Steverson said the Runions each were shot in the head with a small-caliber handgun. The bodies were found in the woods near Old Prison Camp Road, not far outside town. The couples 2003 GMC Envoy was found Monday afternoon in a lake. 
   
   Towns has been charged with malice murder, armed robbery, making a false statement and criminal attempt to commit theft by deception. 
   
   Steverson said although Towns had never been arrested previously for a crime in Telfair County, he had been questioned on several occasions during investigations into other theft-related crimes. 
   
   In the past, in the course of previous investigations, his name came up, Steverson said. (Investigators) stopped to question him. But obviously, he doesnt have any arrest in his record before this week. 
   
   Towns was initially being sought for making a false statement to authorities and an attempt to commit theft by deception. 
   
   Steverson declined to talk in detail about what led investigators to Towns. 
   
   Billy McKinnon, owner of McKinnon Inc. Landscape in Helena, said Tuesday that Towns had previously worked for his company, but he was fired several weeks ago for a violation of company policies. McKinnon declined to comment further. 
   
   Towns family reacted with shock and anger at Tuesdays developments. Family members were upset that they found out about Towns hearing just a few minutes before it happened. They arrived near the conclusion as Selph was ending the hearing. 
   
   For now, Steverson said, investigators arent looking at charging anyone else. 
   
   Several of Towns family said they believe he isnt guilty of the charges. 
   
   This is a bunch of crap, said Towns father, also named Ronnie. There is something else going on. ... I dont know if he did it or not. I think someone else is involved. Hes a good kid. 
   
   The elder Towns extended his condolences to the Runion family. 
   
   Gwen Towns, the mother of the accused, said, My son did not do this as she left the courtroom. Later, while members of the family were talking to Steverson outside his office, she added that evidence could have been planted in her sons trailer. 
   
   The family asked Steverson if they could see the evidence, but he told them the case was now with the district attorneys office. 
   
   Ashley McLaughlin, a public defender from Dublin, said he couldnt comment on the case. 
   
   Anne Horton, Jay Towns aunt, said the news that her nephew had been charged made her ill. 
   
   It floored me, she told reporters. Theres no way, no way! ... He was always loving, always had a smile on his face. I cant wrap my brain around this. 
   
   Horton also expressed her sympathy for the victims family. 
   
   I have so much sorrow for the family, for the Runions, she said. I hope they get to the bottom of this. 
   
   Earlier, Steverson told national viewers of Fox News that Towns comes from a good family. The family, he said, is well established in the small community. 
   
   As you can imagine, the family is as shocked as the rest of the community that hes been named as a suspect in this case, Steverson said. 
   
   The sheriff said the community is a peaceful one despite difficult economic times. According to a 2014 report by the federal government, Telfair County is among the poorest counties in the country, with an average income of $17,536 -- about $6,000 below the federal poverty line. 
   
   Although were rural and we dont have the resources that big city police departments do, when we see violent crimes, we pull out all the stops, he said. Weve made progress in this investigation from the beginning. 
   
   Later in the day, Steverson said investigators and prosecutors have a mountain of evidence to go through in the case. 
   
   A story on Bud Runion in The Atlanta Constitution in 1999 noted his work in repairing old bicycles for his church and delivering them to underprivileged children in the Woodstock community. 
   
   Staff writer Liz Fabian contributed to this story. To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334. ||||| McRAE, Ga. (AP) — Elrey "Bud" Runion posted an ad on Craigslist seeking to buy a piece of his youth, a replica of the 1966 Ford Mustang convertible he bought after returning from the Vietnam War decades ago. 
   
   Jason Hoffman, left, places flowers at a makeshift memorial with his daughters Jaycee, 9, center, and Nolene, 11, outside the home of 69-year-old Elrey "Bud" Runion and his 66-year-old wife, June, Tuesday,... (Associated Press) 
   
   Matthew Franden, 10, stands at a makeshift memorial outside the home of his neighbors Elrey "Bud" Runion and his 66-year-old wife, June, as an American flag flies at half-staff, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015,... (Associated Press) 
   
   Neighbors gather as they stand across the street from the home of 69-year-old Elrey "Bud" Runion and his 66-year-old wife, June, where an American flag flies at half-staff, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, in... (Associated Press) 
   
   Vietnam veteran R.C. Franden places an American flag by the mailbox belonging to fellow Vietnam veteran and neighbor Elrey "Bud" Runion, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, in Marietta, Ga. Authorities have positively... (Associated Press) 
   
   A message reading "Bud and June" sits power washed in the driveway of the home of 69-year-old Elrey "Bud" Runion and his 66-year-old wife, June, as an American flag flies at half-staff, Tuesday, Jan.... (Associated Press) 
   
   In this image released by the Telfair County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia shows 28-year-old Ronnie Adrian “Jay” Towns, who was charged Monday, Jan. 26, 2015, with making false statements to investigators... (Associated Press) 
   
   Telfair County Sheriff Chris Steverson speaks to the media Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, in McRae, Ga. Stevenson said Ronnie Adrian “Jay” Towns, who answered a Craigslist ad from a couple who wanted to buy... (Associated Press) 
   
   Ronnie Adrian “Jay” Towns enters Magistrate Judge Bryan Selph courtroom for his arraignment Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015 in McRae, Ga. Towns has been charged with murder and armed robbery in the deaths of Bud... (Associated Press) 
   
   Telfair County Sheriff Chris Steverson speaks to the media Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, in McRae, Ga. Stevenson said Ronnie Adrian “Jay” Towns, who answered a Craigslist ad from a couple who wanted to buy... (Associated Press) 
   
   Telfair County Sheriff Chris Steverson speaks to the media Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, in McRae, Ga. Stevenson said Ronnie Adrian “Jay” Towns, who answered a Craigslist ad from a couple who wanted to buy... (Associated Press) 
   
   Ronnie Adrian “Jay” Towns listens to Magistrate Judge Bryan Selph at his arraignment Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015 in McRae, Ga. Towns has been charged with murder and armed robbery in the deaths of Bud and... (Associated Press) 
   
   Judith Hine, holding her dog Heidi, embraces neighbor Dee Cox, right, as they stand across the street from the home of 69-year-old Elrey "Bud" Runion and his 66-year-old wife, June, Tuesday, Jan. 27,... (Associated Press) 
   
   This photo combination of images provided Monday, Jan. 26, 2015, by the Cobb County Police Department, shows June Runion, of Marietta, Ga., and her husband, Elrey “Bud” Runion, 69. Authorities have positively... (Associated Press) 
   
   Ronnie Adrian “Jay” Towns is lead from the courthouse to a waiting sheriff's cruiser after his arraignment in McRae, Ga., on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015. Towns has been charged with murder and armed robbery... (Associated Press) 
   
   A potential seller drew him to a small farming town in southern Georgia where authorities found the couple's SUV on Monday. Nearby, they discovered the body of Runion, 69, and his 66-year-old wife, June, authorities said. Both had been shot in the head. 
   
   Ronnie Adrian "Jay" Towns, 28, of McRae, was accused Tuesday of killing the Runions, a couple from Marietta, Georgia, who were known for their charitable works throughout the South: from storm-damaged Alabama towns and impoverished pockets of West Virginia to housing projects in the Atlanta suburbs. 
   
   "He said, 'You can't take money with you when you're gone," said the couple's daughter, Brittany Patterson. "You might as well spend and enjoy it." 
   
   Years ago, driving through Marietta before Christmas Eve, Runion saw two young girls sorting through a dumpster, his daughter said. He fixed up two bicycles belonging to his own girls and delivered them as gifts. 
   
   It was the beginning of "Bud's Bicycles," a charity run loosely out of Mount Paran Church of God in Marietta. Runion met his wife, a teacher, at the church in the 1970s. 
   
   Neighbors said the Runions built a shed in their backyard to house the bikes. Their donations eventually expanded to include food, household and school supplies, coats, blankets — even Thanksgiving turkeys. 
   
   "Basically, he had a food pantry in the basement of their house," Patterson said. 
   
   Charity came in ways big and small. Patterson remembered as a child going to a doughnut shop with her father on Saturdays. They would often be joined by a man she did not know, and her father would pay the tab. Later in life she realized the man was homeless. 
   
   While the family was unsure Tuesday morning what transpired in McRae, Patterson had her own assumptions. Her father served in Army's 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam, though he never talked to her about the experience in detail. 
   
   "He's a survivor and fighter, and I know he wouldn't have gone out without fighting and trying to protect my mother," she said. 
   
   Someone tied flowers to a child's bicycle and left it standing below a flag flying at half-staff in the couple's front yard in Marietta, three hours north of McRae. 
   
   "If someone lives their life like this and this happens, it really tests your faith," said their neighbor, Tom Murphy. 
   
   The suspect, Towns, was charged Tuesday with malice murder and armed robbery. A judge denied bond for Towns in his first, brief court appearance. Asked if he understood what he had been charged with, Towns replied: "I understand." His attorney, public defender Ashley McLaughlin, declined to comment afterward. 
   
   Telfair County Sheriff Chris Steverson said robbery appears to be the motive for the couple's killings, but he would not say whether the Runions were carrying cash or disclose other details about the case. On Monday, he said investigators had found no evidence that Towns owned the sort of classic car Runion was seeking. 
   
   The Runions' slaying shocked residents of McRae, a tiny city about 80 miles southeast of Macon, where a public mural in the downtown square proclaims it's the "6th Safest City in Georgia." 
   
   Towns grew up on a farm down a long dirt road where his father raised pine trees and grew soybeans, corn and peanuts. Now 28, he had a family of his own — a wife and a young daughter — in neighboring Wheeler County. Towns supported them by working construction jobs for a local homebuilder, said his uncle, Buddy Towns. 
   
   "He's a good kid, and very smart," said the uncle, who sometimes hired his nephew to help install carpet and flooring customers had purchased from Buddy Towns' business in McRae. 
   
   Buddy Towns said it had been six months or so since he needed his nephew's help on a job, but he saw the younger Towns' truck pass his storefront almost daily as he headed to work. He said his nephew remained close to his father, Ronnie Towns Sr., and they often went fishing and hunting together. 
   
   Towns' family helped persuade him to turn himself in to authorities Monday. Buddy Towns said they were stunned that he would be charged in connection with the Runions' disappearance. 
   
   "It just doesn't make any sense why this would even go down," Towns' uncle said. "It's hard for his parents. They're not understanding." 
   
   The missing couple's friends and family near Atlanta were equally stunned. 
   
   "The Bible tells us the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and he saves those who are crushed in spirit," said the Rev. Mark Walker, the family's pastor. "And that's what we are." 
   
   ___ 
   
   Henry reported from Marietta, Georgia.
target: – A tragic end for the Georgia couple who vanished while trying to buy a car on Craigslist. Police say two bodies found in the woods outside McRae, near where the couple's 2003 GMC Envoy was discovered submerged in a lake, are indeed those of Bud Runion, 69, and his wife, June, 66. Both were shot in the head with a small-caliber handgun, police say. Ronnie Adrian "Jay" Towns, who grew up 80 miles northwest of McRae in Macon, is now charged with malice murder and armed robbery, the AP reports. Entering a courtroom yesterday, Towns said, "I didn't do it," before a judge denied him bond, the Macon Telegraph reports. His mother seconded that claim, adding "evidence could have been planted" in her son's trailer. Bud Runion posted an ad on Craigslist on Jan. 19 looking to buy a 1966 Ford Mustang convertible, like the one he purchased after returning from the Vietnam War. "He said, 'You can't take money with you when you're gone,' " his daughter says. "You might as well spend and enjoy it." Police now say Towns—who has a wife and young daughter and was recently fired from a landscaping company—answered the ad with the intention of robbing the couple, who set out from their home in Marietta on Thursday. A cellphone used to contact them was traced to Towns, who police say doesn't own a Mustang, CBS News reports. In Marietta, the Runions are remembered as charitable people, who restored bicycles for kids and donated food, household supplies, and coats to the poor.