SHE THOUGHT SHE HAD FOUND A FRIEND IN A NEW CITY — SEVEN YEARS LATER, POLICE FOUND MORGAN BAUER’S REMAINS

Morgan Bauer was only 19 when she moved from South Dakota to Atlanta, hoping to build a new life.

She had barely been in Georgia for two weeks when she disappeared.

For seven years, her family lived without knowing what had happened to her.

Then investigators finally uncovered the truth — and the case led to two convictions and two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

SHE HAD ONLY JUST ARRIVED IN ATLANTA

Morgan arrived in Atlanta on February 12, 2016.

She was trying to find work, housing and a fresh start. She eventually found temporary accommodation and began working as an exotic dancer.

On February 25, she disappeared.

Her mother reported her missing, and investigators began retracing Morgan’s final days.

One person quickly became particularly important: Katelyn Goble, a young woman Morgan had recently befriended.

According to information obtained by PEOPLE, Goble initially told investigators that she and her boyfriend, Jonathan Alexander Warren, had picked Morgan up from her hotel.

She claimed Morgan was later picked up by another man.

But witnesses gave investigators a very different account.

Several people reportedly remembered seeing Morgan leave with a woman matching Goble’s description.

Then the trail went cold.

SEVEN YEARS WITHOUT ANSWERS

Morgan’s family never stopped looking for answers.

For years, there was no body and no definitive explanation for what had happened to her.

The case eventually became a cold case.

Then, in July 2023, investigators returned to a property in Porterdale, Georgia.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation found what authorities described as items of evidentiary interest.

Morgan’s remains were eventually discovered.

Authorities said her body had been dismembered and burned in an apparent attempt to conceal what had happened to her. 

The arrests followed.

Goble was taken into custody in Illinois.

Warren was arrested in California.

The seven-year mystery was finally moving toward court.

WARREN CONFESSED — AND POINTED THE FINGER AT GOBLE

Warren eventually pleaded guilty to Morgan’s murder.

According to PEOPLE and Court TV, Warren told investigators that Goble had wanted Morgan dead and that she was responsible for the fatal attack.

He also described what happened afterward, including the destruction of Morgan’s remains. Those statements formed part of the evidence against Goble.

Warren pleaded guilty to multiple charges connected to Morgan’s death and received life in prison without parole.

But Goble maintained her innocence and chose to go to trial.

THE JURY HEARD THE HORRIFYING DETAILS

Goble’s trial finally took place in 2026.

Prosecutors presented evidence about Morgan’s disappearance, the investigation and what happened after her death.

The prosecution argued that Goble participated in the killing and the subsequent concealment of Morgan’s death.

After a weeklong trial, the jury found Goble guilty of:

• Malice murder
• Felony murder
• Aggravated assault
• Concealing the death of another
• Tampering with evidence

She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

“WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO UNHEAR” WHAT HAPPENED

At Goble’s sentencing, Morgan’s family spoke about the extraordinary pain caused not only by her death, but by the seven years they spent wondering where she was.

Morgan’s stepmother described the period after the remains were discovered as repeatedly reopening an old wound.

The family had spent years hoping for answers.

They finally got them — but those answers came with devastating details.

A SEVEN-YEAR MYSTERY FINALLY HAS AN ENDING

Morgan Bauer left South Dakota at 19 hoping to start over.

Instead, she disappeared less than two weeks after arriving in Georgia.

Her family spent seven years searching for her.

Now, more than a decade after her disappearance, the two people convicted in connection with her death are both serving life sentences without parole.

But perhaps the most haunting part of Morgan’s story is how ordinary the beginning seemed.

A young woman arrived in a new city.

She met someone she believed was a friend.

And then she vanished.

For seven years, her family had only questions.

Today, they finally have an answer.

Morgan Bauer was not forgotten.