Hayesville teen charged in murder of Jordan Garcia

The following press release has been issued by Clay County Sheriff’s Office.  All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

HAYESVILLE, NC – Clay County Sheriff’s Investigators and agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation have logged over 1000 man hours, written and executed more than 20 Search Warrants and collected approximately 120 items of evidence since May 31 st when the discovery of human remains were found at the last location Jordan Ramon Garcia was reported to have been seen alive. Assistance from neighboring jurisdictions include Towns and White County Sheriff’s Office, Hiawassee Police Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigations, Cherokee County NC Sheriff’s Office, Swain, Jackson and Henderson County Sheriff’s Offices.

Investigators met Friday morning with District Attorney Ashley Welch and her office to discuss the case and filing criminal charges. Careful consideration was given to all matters before the decision was made to charge 17-year-old Caleb Anthony Ellis with Jordan’s murder. Investigators received a confession from Ellis prior to him being charged.

Garcia was reported missing on 05/28/2019 after being missing for four days. On 05/31/2019 human remains were found in a wooded area within 75 feet of the residence where he was last reported to be seen. Over 50% of the body had been reduced to skeletal remains by fire and decomposition. Positive identification that the remains were those of Jordan Ramon Garcia were made the following week at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center through the use of dental records. Additional information obtained in the preliminary autopsy revealed the presence of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. A pathology report is still pending at this time.

Over the course of the investigation multiple accounts of obstruction have been identified. Investigators anticipate additional evidence of this activity will be found in information obtained from social media as well as cell phone searches. During the investigation, some individuals made numerous efforts to redirect, misinform, and obstruct the attentions of investigators away from the facts, some of which have been found to be criminal. The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are anticipated.