CLAIBORNE COUNTY, Tenn. — A sister is pleading for justice after the Claiborne County Sheriff's Office said a double-homicide investigation was underway when two men were found dead on June 7.
On Monday, the sheriff's office identified the victims as Nathan T. Hamblin, 46, and Robert T. Hatfield, 51. Authorities said they found the bodies just days after the two men were reported missing.
In the Clairfield community, questions still remain about what happened to Hamblin and Hatfield.
"It's obviously not only a shock to me, but to this community itself," said Leeann Bills, Hamblin's sister.
She said Hamblin was a friend to many and a helper to the community.
"Nathan was the most kind-hearted person. He was just an easy person to be around," she said. "I was raised in the same household as him. His mother adopted me when I was very young."
Bob Brooks, the Claiborne County Sheriff, said Hamblin and Hatfield were reported missing on Wednesday — two days before the men were found.
"Nathan and Robbie have been friends since childhood," Bills said.
Bills said she last heard from her brother weeks before he went missing, and that she never imagined it would be the last time she saw him.
"He just walked up to me. He said, 'Hey, Si, how are you?' He walked up to me and he hugged me," Bills said.
Hamblin and Hatfield were found off Rock Creek Ridge Road where family members found them early in the morning, around 2 a.m.
"My first instinct was, 'Is this my brother? This couldn't be my brother,' not the one who loves everyone," Bills said.
Bills also said that homicides like this aren't seen in the community and she is pleading for answers.
According to CCSO, no arrests have been made while they look into the cause of the deaths. That information is expected to be released by the end of the week.
CCSO said to contact the sheriff's office at (423) 626-3385 if you have any information on the case.