Oconee County authorities seek missing UGA student - Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

Authorities in Oconee County are asking the public's help in locating a University of Georgia student who has been missing since Friday.

The Oconee County Sheriff's Office says Quinton Ayers was last seen in the Athens area at around 1 a.m. on Saturday.

With the help of friends and social media, Oconee County investigators have pieced together Quinton's last known actions.

Early Friday evening, Quinton left the home he shares with his mother in Watkinsville, telling her that he may spend the night with friends.  He spent the next several hours with those friends at an apartment in Athens. At 1 a.m. he then decided to drive two hours by himself, to Adairsville, where he grew up and still has friends. He likely took Highway 316 for that trip and hasn't been seen since.

A cell phone tower at the Gwinnett County Airport -- also on Highway 316 -- picked up a ping from Quinton's phone, meaning it was turned on somewhere near this area, about 5:30 p.m. Saturday. That's 16 hours after he should have driven by.

Friends say Quinton doesn't know anyone in Lawrenceville, near the airport.

A helicopter search of the tree line along that stretch of 316 has turned up nothing, leaving Quinton's mother to worry about foul play.

"I'm scared something like this has happened. So..I want to find him," said Sheridan Ayers, Quinton's mother.

Investigators say at this point there is no evidence of foul play in this case.

Besides that one cell ping at the airport, they say his phone has been turned off, and his bank account has not been used.

Police describe Ayers as 6', 2" tall and weighing around 250 pounds. They say he has a crewcut and a "shadow" beard. He was last seen wearing a neon, yellow T-shirt, black shorts and flip-flops.

According to police, Ayers drives a black 1999 GMC Sierra Z-71 truck with Georgia tag, 889-YRL.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Oconee County Sheriff's Office at 706-769-5665.