Resort Employee Sought in Slayings of Two Supervisors

HOT SPRINGS, Va. -- Authorities searched the mountains of western Virginia Monday for a man suspected of shooting and killing two of his supervisors at a posh resort.

Searchers focused on a steep, wooded area across from The Homestead resort where suspect Beacher Ferrel Hackney fled after the shootings Saturday night, said Bath County Sheriff's Capt. Richard Armstrong.

However, Armstrong said his department and Virginia State Police stepped up patrols of the wider county as well.

Ten schools in Bath County and adjacent Alleghany County were closed Monday as a precaution.

The 59-year-old Hackney is suspected of shooting Ronnie Stinnett and Dwight Kerr, who worked with him washing dishes, picking up trash and cleaning. The shooting happened in the resort's kitchen about 8 p.m. when guests were eating dinner.

Hackney has been charged with murder and an arrest warrant was issued, Armstrong said.

Authorities said they don't have a motive for the slayings, but they described Hackney as a loner who didn't associate with his co-workers.

A search of Hackney's home in Covington yielded no clues in the investigation, and there was no indication he had been there since the shootings, Armstrong said.

"It was very clean," he said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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