In the early morning hours of July 17, 2022, 22-year-old Dolan Ryan Blanchard was found lying on Maria Sorrell Road in Bulloch County, Georgia, suffering from critical gunshot wounds. Deputies arrived just after 1:30 a.m.; first aid was attempted but Blanchard died before EMS arrived. He had been shot three times with a 12-gauge shotgun. A short distance away his father's car, which Blanchard had been driving, was discovered burning.

Investigators say the shooting led them to a 19-year-old from Statesboro, John Warnell Morris, who knew Blanchard through an online video gaming community. On the night of the killing, Morris allegedly convinced Blanchard to drive from Sylvania to Statesboro to shoot at road signs. At a remote spot on Maria Sorrell Road, after firing at a stop sign, Morris reportedly turned the shotgun on Blanchard, then drove Blanchard’s car to another location and set it on fire, leaving the weapon inside. Morris was arrested on July 29, 2022.

If anyone has information about Dolan Blanchard, his movements that night, or the road between Sylvania and Statesboro, please come forward.