Johnathan Cole Harmon

Johnathan Cole Harmon, a 20-year-old man from Ellabell, Georgia, known to his loved ones as Cole, was a young man with a deep love for his family and the outdoors. Born in Savannah, he had a particular passion for fishing and cherished spending time in nature. His family remembered him as a loving person who was navigating a difficult period of grief after the death of his mother three years prior to his own passing. He was a son, a brother to five siblings, and a beloved grandson who was deeply connected to his extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

The night of Tuesday, June 11, 2019, ended that life in a sudden act of violence. Cole was with a friend, 39-year-old Jeffrey Moore, behind a convenience store on Fort Argyle Road in Bloomingdale, a town on the outskirts of Savannah. Just before 10:30 p.m., they heard a noise coming from a wooded area nearby. When they used a flashlight to see what was there, they apparently startled a group of people concealed in the darkness. Without warning, gunshots erupted from the woods.

The unexpected barrage of gunfire struck both Cole and his friend. When officers from the Chatham County Police Department arrived at the scene, they found Cole with fatal injuries. He died there behind the store. Jeffrey Moore was also wounded in the shooting and was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The sudden violence left a community in shock and a family devastated by the loss of a young man just starting his adult life.

The investigation into Cole Harmon’s murder was launched immediately by the Chatham County Police Department. Detectives began processing the scene, gathering evidence, and seeking information from the public. In the days following the shooting, police identified a person of interest: 23-year-old Arkeem Brown. Authorities located and spoke with Brown shortly after the incident, but the details of that interview were not publicly released. Despite this initial lead, no arrests were announced in the immediate aftermath.

Cole’s family and friends gathered to mourn their loss. A viewing was held on June 13, followed by a funeral service the next day at a chapel in Savannah. He was laid to rest in the Greenwich section of Bonaventure Cemetery. The services were a somber testament to the many lives he had touched in his two decades. His obituary noted that he had "joined his mother in Heaven," a poignant reflection of the family's earlier loss.

As of the latest available information, the investigation into Johnathan Cole Harmon's homicide remains open and unsolved. After the initial announcement of a person of interest, there have been no public updates regarding arrests or charges in the case. The Chatham County Police Department has not released further details about the evidence collected or the motive behind the shooting. The questions of who was in the woods that night and why they opened fire remain unanswered, leaving Cole's family still searching for justice years later. The case stands as a painful cold case for the Savannah area, a reminder of a young life cut tragically short.