SHE THOUGHT SHE HAD FINALLY FOUND A FRIEND — THEN SHE VANISHED. SEVEN YEARS LATER, THE TRUTH ABOUT MORGAN BAUER EMERGED

Morgan Bauer had only been in Atlanta for less than two weeks.

The 19-year-old from South Dakota had moved to Georgia hoping to start a new life. She was looking for work, trying to find somewhere to stay and beginning to build a new circle of friends.

Then, on February 25, 2016, she disappeared.

For seven years, Morgan’s family was left without answers.

Then investigators found her remains.

And what they uncovered transformed a missing-person case into one of Georgia’s most disturbing murder investigations.

SHE WAS ONLY 19

Morgan arrived in Atlanta on February 12, 2016.

She eventually found temporary housing and a job as an exotic dancer. Among the people she met was Katelyn Goble, another woman working in the same world.

According to PEOPLE, the two became friends.

Morgan even reportedly offered to help Goble pay the $370 cost of a work permit.

But less than two weeks after arriving in Georgia, Morgan disappeared.

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

Goble told investigators that she and her boyfriend, Jonathan Alexander Warren, had picked Morgan up from her hotel.

She claimed Morgan later left with another man.

But other witnesses reportedly placed Morgan leaving with a woman matching Goble’s description.

The conflicting accounts became an early warning sign in a case that would remain unsolved for years.

THEN THE CASE WENT COLD

There was a major problem for investigators:

There was no body.

Without physical evidence establishing what had happened, the investigation eventually stalled.

Goble and Warren eventually separated. Goble moved to Illinois, while Warren went to California.

Morgan’s family, however, never stopped looking for answers.

Seven years passed.

Then, in July 2023, investigators returned to the case after discovering new evidence.

Search teams went to a property in Porterdale, Georgia.

What they found finally gave Morgan’s family the answer they had been waiting for.

Her remains had been discovered.

Authorities said her body had been dismembered and burned.

THE BOYFRIEND CONFESSED

Warren was arrested in California in 2023.

He eventually pleaded guilty to Morgan’s murder and other charges, including concealing her death and tampering with evidence.

He received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

During the proceedings, Warren placed much of the blame on Goble, telling the court that the decision to murder Morgan had been hers.

Goble denied involvement and chose to go to trial.

That meant a jury would ultimately have to decide what role she played in Morgan’s death.

THE VERDICT FINALLY CAME

After a weeklong trial, the jury found Katelyn Goble guilty of multiple charges, including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, concealing a death and tampering with evidence.

On September 1, 2026, a judge sentenced her to life in prison without parole.

She became the second person convicted in Morgan Bauer’s murder.

For Morgan’s family, the case that began with a missing 19-year-old had finally reached its legal conclusion.

But the timeline remains haunting.

Morgan arrived in Atlanta looking for a fresh start.

She met people she believed she could trust.

Then she disappeared.

For more than seven years, her loved ones had no idea where she was or what had happened to her.

Now, two people are serving life sentences for her death.

And Morgan Bauer’s name is no longer attached to an unsolved disappearance.

She was 19 years old when she vanished.

She was still only 19 when her life ended.

More than a decade later, the courtroom finally delivered an answer — but nothing can give her family back the young woman who left South Dakota hoping to build a new life in Atlanta.