The Burke County Sheriff’s Office is offering a $30,000 reward for any information regarding the 2016 disappearance of Simon Powell who was 63 years old when he vanished.
“Over the course of the last six years the Burke County Sheriff’s Office has followed every tip and piece of information afforded to us find Mr. Powell. It is our belief that Mr. Powell was the victim of foul play,” reads a statement from Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams.
Powell was last seen on June 1, 2016, driving his white Ford truck, which was later found burned. However, a body was not recovered from the wreckage.
According to family members, Powell owned a lumber business and would occasionally hire itinerant workers, but there is no evidence that Powell had any trouble with any of his workers or had any other known enemies.
MORE: Burke County Sheriff Calls Quame Collins A Serial Killer
After the arrest and conviction of Quame Collins, a man who Williams labeled a “serial killer,” on multiple murder charges, many in the community began to assume that perhaps Powell was yet another victim of Collins, according to a July 6 article in The Augusta Press.
In June 2021, Collins was convicted in connection with the 2017 execution-style murders of Louis Grubbs, 64, and Marshall Jordan Jr., 65. Judge Daniel Craig sentenced Collins to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Collins was also a suspect in the Richmond County murders of Brandon Grubbs, 21, as well as the double murders of Jeramie Hammonds, 20, and Kayla Wells, 19, both were also residents of Richmond County.
MORE: Murders Unsolved in Augusta: Brandon Grubbs, Part I
However, the modus operandi employed in the other killings is far different from the disappearance of Powell.
Collins would storm his intended victim’s home with guns blazing and attempt to kill everyone there whether they were a target or not. He never went to the trouble of destroying evidence or hiding a body.
Also, most of Collins’ victims were either tied to the drug trade or involved in gang activity and Powell had no such known ties.
“Collins’ name popped up because he had a reputation of robbing and shooting, and some folks just kind of threw his name out there. Investigators were never able to connect the two other than street talk,” said Captain Jimmy Wylds of the Burke County Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with information should contact the Burke County Sheriff’s Office at 706-554-2133.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
