Bywater, Cayle 12/29/2007, GA, Athens

[wv171]

Searchers looking for missing woman


Dozens of rescue workers and volunteers are searching locations in south Athens with the hopes of finding a woman who went missing over the weekend.

The search for 29-year-old Cayle Bywater began this morning in Memorial Park, where someone saw Bywater with her dog at about 6 p.m. Saturday, according to Athens-Clarke police Lt. Greg Paul.

The search of the 90-acre park on Gran Ellen Drive off South Milledge Avenue wrapped up shortly after noon, when rescuers regrouped to scour University of Georgia’s intramural fields off College Station Road, another area police said Bywater liked to walk her dog.

A friend reported Bywater missing on Monday, after she didn’t show up for work Saturday or Sunday at Aromas wine bar in Five Points.

Katie Sims told police she found Bywater’s purse, cell phone and other belongings on her car, parked outside her house, where the basement door was open and Bywater’s dog was running loose outside, according to police.

Police do not believe foul play was involved, and that Bywater, who has bi-polar disorder, may have stopped taking her medication and wandered off.

The person who saw Bywater in the park Saturday described the woman as being disoriented, according to Paul.

One of the missing woman’s sisters, Tiffiny Cohen, thinks Bywater’s dog may have gotten loose and Bywater hurt herself running after it.

Another possibility, Cohen said, is someone may have seen her sister "stumbling around" in a disoriented state and "snatched her."

Cohen, Bywater’s mother and another sister came from Atlanta to look for their missing family member.

If Bywater is not found during the search of the intramural fields, Paul said, police will focus on other areas, yet to be determined.

Between 45 and 50 volunteers, police officers and firefighters are involved in the search.

The search will resume in the morning if Bywater is not found today, Paul said.

Anyone with information about Bywater may call the Athens-Clarke Police Department’s main number, (706) 613-3330, Central Communications at (706) 613-3345 or Detective Dustin Smith (706) 613-3888, extension 795.


Published on OnlineAthens.com on 010308

[burnsjl2003]

Search of park, UGA fields comes up empty
Worries mount as woman remains missing
By Joe Johnson | Staff Writer | Story updated at 11:26 PM on Thursday, January 3, 2008

Dozens of rescue workers and volunteers spent hours searching sections of south Athens on Thursday, but couldn't find a woman who went missing over the weekend.

Searchers started looking for 29-year-old Cayle Bywater in Memorial Park, where someone saw Bywater with her dog about 6 p.m. Saturday, according to Athens-Clarke police Lt. Greg Paul.

Searchers finished hunting through the 90-acre Gran Ellen Drive park shortly after noon and regrouped to scour the woods around the University of Georgia's intramural fields off College Station Road, another place Bywater liked to walk her dog, according to Paul.

They suspended the search at about 3:30 p.m., he said.

No organized searches were planned for today, though Paul said rescue workers may dredge or send divers into a pond in Memorial Park and are arranging to have search dogs brought in.

"We're considering our options," he said.

Police don't suspect foul play, but think that Bywater, who has bipolar disorder, may have stopped taking her medication and wandered off.

"I'm hoping she's found, and she's just holed up somewhere trying to keep warm," Paul said.

The person who saw Bywater in the park Saturday said the missing woman seemed disoriented, according to Paul.

A friend reported Bywater missing Monday, after she didn't show up for work Saturday or Sunday at Aromas wine bar in Five Points.

Katie Sims told police she found Bywater's purse, cell phone and other belongings on her car, parked outside her house, where the basement door was open and Bywater's dog was running loose outside, according to police.

One of the missing woman's sisters, Tiffiny Cohen, thinks Bywater's dog may have gotten loose before her sister went missing and she might have hurt herself running after the pet.

Someone also might have seen her sister disoriented, "stumbling around" and "snatched her," Cohen said.

Bywater's mother and another sister came from Atlanta to help search.

Forty-five to 50 volunteers, police officers and firefighters were involved in the search.

Bywater, who once worked as a data management specialist at UGA's agriculture school, was attending graduate school in Gwinnett County. She volunteered at Nuci's Space, a nonprofit organization that seeks to prevent suicide by providing free treatment for musicians suffering from depression and other disorders.

"Cayle is one of our most dedicated volunteers, someone we are all concerned about," said Will Kaiser, one of five people from Nuci's Space who assisted in Thursday's search. "She was working on a database project for us and would spend hours doing this really boring stuff that's really needed at Nuci's."

Anyone with information about Bywater may call the Athens-Clarke Police Department's main number, (706) 613-3330, Central Communications at (706) 613-3345 or Detective Dustin Smith (706) 613-3888, extension 795.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 010408

http://onlineathens.com/stories/010408/new...080104055.shtml

[Ell]

http://findcayle.blogspot.com/

[Ell]

Police: UGA student found in lake drowned

By JEFFRY SCOTT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 01/12/08

A 29-year-year-old University of Georgia student drowned and was not a victim of the man accused of beating to death and decapitating Meredith Emerson, according to Athens-Clarke County police.

The preliminary findings of a Saturday autopsy on Cayle Bywater confirmed the police agency's belief that it was unlikely Bywater's disappearance and death could be linked to Emerson's. Like Emerson, Bywater was last seen with her dog, said police spokeswoman Hilda Sorrow.

Gary Michael Hilton is charged with kidnapping Emerson from a North Georgia trail where she was hiking with her dog on New Year's Day and he is a suspect or a person of interest in five other cases in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina. Bywater was last seen with her dog in Athens' Memorial Park the afternoon of Dec. 29.

"Investigators don't see any connection because there's no evidence that Hilton has been in Athens and there's no evidence of violence to her body," Clarke County coroner Bobby Tribble said. "There are no obvious signs of trauma."

Divers from the Hall County's Sheriff's office found Bywater's submerged body at about 5 p.m. Friday in Memorial Park. The water where her body was discovered was so murky, divers felt their way along the bottom of the lake where Bywater's glasses were found Wednesday.

— Staff writer Rhonda Cook contributed to this article.

http://mail.google.com/mail/#inbox/1176f206c7d693ab

[monkalup]

RIP Cayle!

[monkalup]

Saturday, January 12, 2008
Update and Memorial Fund
At this time the coroner reports that preliminary findings do not indicate foul play, although it still may take several months for all the test results to return.

Cayle's family is in the process of making arrangements for a Memorial Service in Athens for Saturday, 1/19, and services in Atlanta next Sunday,1/20. Once the details/times have been finalized they will be posted here.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Cayle Bywater Memorial Fund using the PayPal button in the right column of this page - or, you can visit any SunTrust Bank to make a donation to the Cayle Bywater Memorial Fund. This tragedy has placed enormous financial burdens on the family , and your support for them at this time of need would be deeply appreciated.

Again, please continue to check back at this website for details regarding the planned services in Athens and Atlanta.