Police issue warrant for suspect of missing Georgia couple Bud, June Runion

Police in South Georgia are searching for a couple who vanished after traveling across the state to buy a car. Atlanta-area grandparents Bud and June Runion were last seen Thursday. Since then, police have named a suspect in connection with their disappearance, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.

Police believe that 28-year-old Ronnie Adrian Towns of McRae, Georgia was the last person to speak with the Runions. The couple, both in their late 60s, set out on a 200-mile road trip. They left their suburban Atlanta home to buy a car from the suspect.

Bud posted a want ad on Craigslist last week for his dream car -- a 1966 Ford Mustang Convertible. Towns contacted him saying he had one for sale and sent photos.

"This individual, we've identified him as being the owner of the telephone that they communicated on," Telfair county sheriff Chris Stevenson said.

Police tracked the Runions' cell phone. The last call they made was traced back to a disposable cell phone Towns had bought only days before.

On Friday, the couple's daughters reported their parents were missing when they failed to show up to babysit their grandchildren.

"I know he is protecting my mom. He loves her so much, and his family," their daughter Brittany Patterson said.

Police and volunteers fanned out across Telfair County, searching for the couple and for any signs of Towns. Two warrants have been issued for his arrest: one for making false statements to police and another for attempting to defraud the Runions.

Police are asking anyone with information about the couple's whereabouts to contact them immediately.

"I don't care what happened as far as, you know, why this situation occurred," Patterson said. "I just want to know where my parents are. My family, our friends, we want to know where they are."