Thursday, after 3 p.m.: Police say Mrs. Dunstan was at her mother's residence on Kipling Drive, near Boy Scout Road, where she walked into the middle of a burglary in progress. Mr. Burke was later found to have come through the floor of the house, thus not setting off the home's security system. Mrs. Dunstan was assaulted and robbed before being stranged to death, officials would say the next week, and alleged that Mr. Burke later confessed to taking her body to an area off of a U.S. Forest Service road in Edgefield County.
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Thursday, about 4 p.m.: Faye Lewis Cundey, Mrs. Dunstan's mother, said she attempted to call her daughter but got no response.
Thursday, 5:13 p.m.: Mrs. Cundey calls 911 after she finds her house broken into.
Thursday, about 7 p.m.: The first lookout for Mrs. Dunstan is called out over Richmond County's radio system. FBI agents begin to assist in the investigation. Later, a Georgia State Patrol helicopter is called to use night vision and infrared imaging technology to help find Mrs. Dunstan.
Thursday, about 8:30 p.m.: Investigators put out a lookout for a dark colored, newer model Mustang with two men, bearing a USC Aiken vanity license plate on the front.
Friday: Family and friends place reward posters throughout west Augusta on utility poles and in businesses. Arrangements are made to post billboards around the city in the appeal for Mrs. Dunstan.
Friday, about 9 p.m.: Lookout for the Ford Mustang and its occupants is canceled and investigators begin searching for a man driving a teal or light blue pick-up truck, possibly a Nissan, missing a tailgate with plywood in its place, for questioning only.
Friday, about 10 p.m.: Mrs. Cundey, Dr. Cundey and Mr. Dunstan appear on On The Record with Greta van Susteren show on the Fox News Channel in the first nationwide appeal to help find Mrs. Dunstan. CNN would later also air the story.
Saturday, during the day: Local and federal investigators continue to look for clues. District Attorney Danny Craig accompanies sheriff's investigators at the crime scene on Kipling Drive.
Reward posters are posted throughout Augusta, on pizza boxes and numerous businesses. Posters are also seen along Interstate 20 west from Augusta to Atlanta, and are also distributed in Savannah and Athens.
Saturday, 5:15 p.m.: Mrs. Dunstan's family holds a press conference at her father-in-law's home on Walton Way. Pat Rice, an Augusta attorney, speaks for the first time as the family's spokesman, thanking the community for their support but asking the news media to ask him questions to take stress off of the family. Mr. Dunstan appeals directly to his wife's abductors.
Mr. Rice also announces that the family plans to appear Monday on NBC's The Today Show and ABC's Good Morning America.
Saturday, 9 p.m.: Hundreds gather at the Dunstan family church, St. Mary on the Hill Catholic Church, at a vigil to pray for Mrs. Dunstan's safe return.
Saturday, after 9:30 p.m.: Richmond County sheriff's investigators release pictures of porcelain figurines and two Thomas Kinkade reprints to the media, items which officials say were taken during the burglary at Mrs. Cundey's residence.
Sunday, Midnight: Sheriff's officials find Mr. Burke and take him in for questioning.
Sunday, after 12:00 p.m.: Richmond County Sheriff Ronnie Strength announces the discovery of Tamara Dunstan's body and the arrest of Mr. Burke in connection with her death.
Monday: Mr. Burke appears before Magistrate Court Judge John Baxter for his initial appearance hearing. Mr. Burke asks for the county to appoint him an attorney. Augusta attorney Peter Johnson is later appointed. Bond is left to be determined by Superior Court Judge Carl C. Brown this Friday, as is required by Georgia law.
Tuesday, daytime: Richmond County Sheriff Ronnie Strength and his investigators testify before a grand jury, which hands down an indictment against Mr. Burke for multiple murder counts, burglary, kidnapping and robbery. The indictment reveals that authorities accuse him of robbing Mrs. Dunstan of her wedding ring in addition to other property in her mother's house.
Tuesday, 7 p.m.: Another vigil, not to pray for Mrs. Dunstan's safe return, but to pray on the night before her and her unborn child's funeral, is held at St. Mary on the Hill Catholic Church.
JEREMY CRAIG/STAFF
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• Burke asks for attorney at Tamara Dunstan slaying hearing
• Woman's body is found
• Service becomes 'rally of tears'
• Heavily-wooded area yields shallow grave
• Who is Ronald Francis Burke?
• Family hopes public can help
• Woman is selfless, friends say
• Family, friends gather for vigil
• Family of missing woman releases statement
• Family members call on abductors to safely return missing 29-year-old
• Police search for pregnant Augusta woman
