Murder charge filed in man’s November disappearance, death
A 35-year-old Grundy County, Tennessee, man has been charged in the 2019 death of a man reported missing that November. His body was found just over a week later.
Derrick Earl Anderson is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 48-yearold Palmer resident Scottie Dewayne Tate, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Anderson was arrested Wednesday, officials said.
Tate went missing around Nov. 11, 2020, triggering an investigation by the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office that led to the discovery of a body on Anderson Road identified as that of Tate’s a few days later on Nov. 20. Anderson Road is south of Tracy City near Grundy Forest State Natural Area in the south end of the county.
That’s when the TBI joined the investigation at the request of the 12th Judicial District Attorney Office, according to a Thursday statement by TBI spokesperson Susan Niland.
Investigators developed information that identified Anderson as the individual responsible for the death of Scottie Tate, Niland said.
Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum said he was glad an arrest was made and applauded the collaborative effort between the two agencies.
“We’re glad to be able to bring some closure to the family of Scottie Tate,” Shrum said Thursday. The investigation is continuing, he said.
“There’s still a lot of working parts to this investigation,” he said. “We’re not through by any means.”
Anderson remains in the Grundy County Jail in Altamont where he is being held without bond.