Police: Suspect In Missing Woman Case Committed Suicide

ATLANTA — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced major new developments Tuesday in the case of a missing Blairsville woman.

Authorities said they now have a suspect in Kristi Cornwell's disappearance. The only problem -- he's dead.

Investigators said James Carringer, 42, killed himself inside a car during an early morning standoff with Atlanta police in Buckhead.

The standoff shut down Peachtree between Deering Road and 26th Street for several hours in April. Police had cornered him after they said he abducted and raped a Kennesaw State University student in Gilmer County.

Investigators are still working to find out where Carringer spent his last few months before he killed himself.

"I don't want them to forget that Kristi is still missing, and it's been 9 months today since she was abducted and that we are in a terrible nightmare. We miss her and love her so much and want her home so bad," said Kristi's mother Jo Ann Cornwell

Kristi Cornwell vanished off a road near her home in Union County.

The GBI said it hasn't given up.

"There is some information about Mr. Carringer that we haven't released to the public that he may be involved in Kristi disappearance," said GBI spokesman John Bankhead.

One of the things that caught investigators' attention is the proximity of Carringer's home in north Georgia to the place where Cornwell disappeared, and to cases in other states including the attempted abduction of a 10-year-old Alabama girl, and the near-abduction of a woman in North Carolina.

"The issue is the suspect is dead," said Bankhead.

Investigators with the GBI want to hear from anyone who may have additional information about Cornwell's case. You may call their tip line at 800-597-8477.

WSBTV