Police treating missing man case as a homicide

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — For the first time, police are now calling the case of a missing man a homicide investigation.
 
Samuel Waters disappeared in January near his Lawrenceville home.
 
Channel 2's Tony Thomas was at a home on the banks of Lake Lanier Thursday afternoon as investigators retrieved possible evidence of what they now think might have been a crime.
 
Investigators brought that evidence back to police headquarters for examination. Thomas said investigators seemed to focus on items taken from a burning barrel in the home's backyard.
 
"Have you found anything useful?" Thomas asked Capt. Jeff Smith with the Lawrenceville Police Department.
 
"We have taken some items from the location," Smith said.
 
Lawrenceville police won't say exactly what led them and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to a house on Shadburn Ferry Road in Hall County. 
 
Investigators documented the wooded area behind the house that leads to the banks of Lake Lanier.
 
Authorities confirm they took a burning barrel and some of its contents back for additional testing. They won't describe the physical evidence they took. 
 
"Do you believe Mr. Waters is still alive?" Thomas asked Smith.
 
"We are treating this case as if it were a homicide case," Smith said.
 
Waters disappeared Jan. 4 from near his Lawrenceville home he shared with his pregnant fiancée.   
 
Thomas was with crews as they searched another wooded area off Lake Lanier last May.
 
At the time, police said it was the last area where Waters' cellphone was connected to a tower. 
 
The missing man's grandmother lives in the area but told Channel 2 Action News she never saw him the night he disappeared.
 
Police will not comment on Waters' possible connection to the house. Waters family hopes they'll have answers soon.
 
"We are anxious to bring closure to the case and find out what happened to Samuel," said his aunt, Debbie Layfield.

WSBTV