2009.03.23
Search continues for suspect in Homestead shooting
By Amanda Codispoti | The Roanoke Times
Schools in the Alleghany Highlands are closed today as the search continues for a man suspected of fatally shooting two of his coworkers at The Homestead resort in Bath County.
Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for capital murder for Beacher F. Hackney, 59, of Covington. Hackney is a steward in the resort's main kitchen, where authorities believe he used a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol to shoot Ronnie Stinnett, 60, and Dwight Kerr, 39, about 8 p.m. Saturday. Hackney fled on foot and was last seen going south on U.S. 220 just outside the resort.
There have been no new reports of any sightings of Hackney, said Capt. R.L. Armstrong with the Bath County Sheriff’s Office. The search has been scaled back today, with fewer people out looking, he said.
“The longer this thing goes on, the less likely it is he’s in the area,” Armstrong said.
Authorities have spoken with Hackney’s family in West Virginia, but they said they haven’t had any contact with Hackney recently, Armstrong said.
Based on accounts from coworkers, Armstrong described Hackney as a loner. “If he spoke at all, it was just to say hello,” he said. “He didn’t seek conversation.”
No search warrants have been filed yet, but Armstrong said authorities have searched Hackney’s Covington home and his car. The house was very clean, with few personal belongings and no food, bolstering the theory that Saturday’s shooting had been planned out.
Armstrong said they have not yet determined a motive.
Meanwhile, schools in Alleghany and Bath counties and Covington are closed today. Day classes at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College have been canceled.
