Click on the graphic for a larger version. STAFF

Area police were on the lookout for Matt Dean, 18, who might have fled in a reddish-colored 2000 Ford Taurus. An alert issued by Columbia County dispatch said he was to be considered armed and dangerous and possibly suicidal.

David and Terry Dean were found shot to death in their home in the 3100 block of Twin Pine Road.

The Deans' 14-year-old daughter also was attacked, Sheriff Marshall said. She escaped and ran to a neighbor's house.

The neighbors, who would not give their names, said the girl came to their door and said her parents had been shot. They administered first aid and phoned police.

Friends of Matt Dean said her name is Bethany. She was being treated late Friday at Medical College of Georgia Hospital. The sheriff said he did not know her condition, but that she did give investigators a lead.

''We have information from the daughter that (her brother) was the perpetrator,'' Sheriff Marshall said.

The shooting happened around 8:10 p.m. in the Deans' two-story house. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation van was parked in the driveway Friday night. Crime-scene tape surrounded the house, including the front porch, where blood was spattered near the front door.

Twin Pine Road is part of Belle Meade, a new, upscale community north of Thomson. Neighbors said the Deans had built the home and moved there in June.

Justin Daniel, a senior at Thomson High School, said he'd known Matt Dean most of his life. He said Mr. Dean had been having problems with his parents but lately had seemed fine. He saw Mr. Dean on Thursday night at the First Baptist Church in Thomson playing basketball in the gym.

Mr. Daniel and other teens came by the house on Twin Pine Road on Friday night after hearing the news. Stephen Faint, also a senior at the school, said he'd talked to Mr. Dean within the past few days, and had seen him at Mulligan's in Augusta.

''He wasn't depressed,'' Mr. Faint said.

The deaths mark McDuffie County's third and fourth killings in 2001.

Reach Preston Sparks at (706) 868-1222, Ext. 110, or ccchron@augustachronicle.com.