Four charged with murder

Authorities need help in identifying fifth Cherry Log suspect

  • The subjects shown above are being searched for by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for their alleged involvement in the murder of a Bethlehem woman.
    The subjects shown above are being searched for by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for their alleged involvement in the murder of a Bethlehem woman.

    Law enforcement officials are hunting four suspects charged with murder in connection with  the Cherry Log death of a Bethlehem, Georgia, woman April 20, 2021.

    Megan Alyssa Colone, 30, of Stone Mountain, Georgia; Juan Ayala-Rodriguez, 35, of Gainsville, Georgia; Oscar Manuel Garcia, 26, of Austell, Georgia; and, Mario Alberto Barbosa-Juarez, 29, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, all face murder charges. Colone may be traveling under the alias Grace Beda and is believed to be traveling with her minor children. 

    All the suspects, along with a fifth suspect yet to be identified, may no longer be in Georgia, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) press release said. 

    Authorities nationwide have been alerted about these individuals. 

    However, the GBI warns that anyone who sees any of these individuals should not approach them but call 911 immediately. Or call the GBI tipline at 1-800-597-8477.

    The GBI press release said at approximately 7 a.m. Tuesday, April 20, the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office conducted a welfare check at a residence in Cherry Log. 

    The victim, Rossana Delgado, 37, of Bethlehem, was discovered, and the GBI’s Regional Investigative Office in Cleveland, Georgia, was contacted for assistance.

    Delgado was reported as a missing person in Barrow County, Georgia, April 16, 2021. She was last seen in DeKalb County the same day.

    The GBI release said the investigation is still very active as authorities work to identify the fifth suspect and await autopsy results. No details of the crime itself have been released by authorities.

    However, several rumors of what had taken place began to fill Facebook pages by the end of last week. Those rumors prompted Gilmer County Sheriff Stacy Nicholson to say on his personal Facebook page, “It does not involve a cabin cleaner. It does not involve anyone from this area. We do not feel there is any lingering threat to anyone in this area.”

    A similar message was echoed on the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, which said, “We do not feel that there is a current threat to our citizens in the area.”