Missing mom who sent chilling message to daughter found dead: "They are not going to let me go"

Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic details of death and injuries which readers may find disturbing.

A 59-year-old mom from Athens, Debbie Collier was reported missing by her family on September 10, 2022. Collier was last seen leaving her house on September 9 with only her driver's license and debit card in a rented black Chrysler Pacifica, reports PEOPLE. Her daughter tried to contact her over the phone several times but her calls went through to voicemail.

On September 11, Collier's body was discovered naked and partially burned in a ravine in a wooded area in Habersham County. According to the police report, the woman was still "grasping a small tree with her right hand" at the base of an embankment when her body was found. Her remains were "apparently burned with what appeared to be charring to her abdomen." They also found remnants of a fire nearby and a partially burned tarp. 

The Georgia woman's daughter, Amanda Bearden revealed that her mother sent her nearly $2,385 through Venmo along with a disturbing note before she was found dead. “They are not going to let me go, love you there is a key to the house in the blue flower pot by the door.” the message read, according to The New York Post. Habersham County Sheriff’s Office investigators have not revealed too many details about the case even to the victim's family. “They haven’t really told us nothing,” Bearden's boyfriend told the outlet. “They’ve interrogated all of us. The people who are closest to her are kind of looked at as suspects right now,” he said adding that officials confiscated their phones. "It’s weird,” he said. “I feel like [the Sheriff’s Department] may have some leads but they won’t tell us anything.”

A neighbor told The Post the night before the woman's disappearance there was "commotion at the house" adding that there was a visitor who was a young woman. “Somebody comes up to visit on the weekends [and] in the evenings, and there’s loud screaming and fighting.” However, according to a statement on September 21 from the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, they have not found any "evidence to suggest or support that this incident was related to a kidnapping or that this was a suicide," reports CBS 46. They have declared the death a homicide as of now.

Collier's daughter claimed that her mother did not have any history of mental health issues or suicidal tendencies. She told CBS 46 that “my mom was my everything. Somebody took my whole world from me,” she said. “She was a beautiful, kind, giving woman — and she didn’t deserve any of this…I want justice for my mom.”

Cover Image Source: Facebook | Debbie Steve Collier