Twitter posts may offer leads in teen's death

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Hall County detectives have positively identified a body found on the Lake Lanier shoreline as a missing Gainesville High School student.

Detectives believe foul play was involved in the death of 16-year-old Hannah Truelove, whose mother said she was last seen Thursday morning.

Detectives are gathering more evidence in the case, which got underway Friday at approximately 7:30 p.m. after a body was found along the Lake Lanier shoreline behind the Lake Lanier Club Apartments. Truelove lived with her mother in the complex off Dawsonville Highway in Gainesville.

On her Twitter page, Truelove posted, "I need to get out of these dang apartments," the day before she disappeared, Channel 2's Sophia Choi learned early Saturday after detectives identified the girl's body. About a week before, Truelove posted that she had a stalker.

Hall County Sheriff's Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks said investigators are looking into tweets on Truelove's account that also said she was scared.

"Our investigators are looking at that as possibilities. Right now there hasn't been a lot more than what was initially posted," Wilbanks told Channel 2's Tony Thomas.

"The body was found in a wooded area. It is rough terrain. It was found along the shoreline, so we are treating it as suspicious until we obtain further information," Gainesville police Cpl. Kevin Holbrook told Channel 2's Michael Buczyner on Friday night.

Investigators spent Saturday going door to door in the Lake Lanier Club Apartments.

The incident seemed to be rattling nerves in the complex, which many said is usually a quiet community.

Neighbor Suzanne Schnaak said she hopes police will catch the person responsible for Truelove's death.

"Hopefully they'll catch who did it," she said.

Police released few details about the death, but a few hours before the discovery, they sent out an alert about an "at risk" teen girl who disappeared from the complex where the body was found.

Authorities, meanwhile, said they have not developed any information that would indicate the community is in danger of any sort.

Truelove's death remains under investigation.

WSBTV