Union County Sheriff's Office - Georgia

11/02/2026

It was nice seeing our friends with the MFC Motorcycle Club. We would like to thank you for the nice plaque and awesome challenge coins. We look forward to seeing you guys again for the next ride!

10/30/2026

Sheriff Dyer reaffirms his commitment to addressing reckless driving behaviors in our community while also lessening the burden to our local taxpayers. This $51,709 grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) marks the second year in a row that the Sheriff's Office has received over $50,000 in grant funding to help address some of the reckless driving behaviors that we have been seeing in the community. This grant funding can be used for certain equipment and to help offset salaries for those deputies assigned to addressing this problem. The Union County Sheriff's Office will continue to aggressively enforce the law against those that want to use our roadways as a racetrack and put our citizens in danger.

Sheriff Dyer made a commitment to perform these actions as Sheriff while also pursuing alternative means to help offset the cost to our citizens. Since Sheriff Dyer took office in January 2025, the Sheriff's Office has received $220,815.46 in grants, scholarships, and donated equipment.

10/21/2026

Wanted Person:
Aaron Dale Patterson

10/14/2026

Suspects Identified in Picker’s Barn Theft

As many of you have probably seen from a recent Facebook post by the Blairsville Picker’s Barn, we had a couple that thought that they could steal from one of the hardworking vendors at the Picker’s Barn and no one would be the wiser. Unfortunately for them, this particular vendor had a really good video surveillance system that caught this couple in the act. At the time of this writing, that video was viewed over 1.4 million times on Facebook.

The details:
On September 27th, a male and female were walking around the Blairsville Picker’s Barn and began looking at items on a shelf in one of the vendor’s booths. A green canvas cartridge belt (containing fake bullets) caught the eye of these thieves. While no one was looking (or so they thought), the female opened her large purse while the male placed the belt into the purse. Unfortunately for them, the vendor had gotten a motion alert on his surveillance video and was watching the two. When he saw the two steal the belt, the vendor set off an alarm on the camera. What do these geniuses do? The male looks straight at the camera giving us a perfect shot of his face, and then they decide to commit to the theft and continue on out with the belt.

The vendor reported this theft to us on September 28th and the video started making its rounds on Facebook. Our investigators began working on this immediately, and by September 29th, we had identified the two suspects. This was all made possible by the sharing of this video. A local business came forward to us because they had seen this couple in their store. They had surveillance video of the two as well as a driver’s license picture of the female and a license plate number for the vehicle they were driving. Investigators took this information and began conducting checks to confirm this was the same couple. Based on multiple surveillance videos depicting this couple from the businesses, we were able to determine that they were the same people.

Joseph Taaffe, age 62, and Jennifer Taaffe, age 54, of Thonotosassa, FL were identified as the couple and arrest warrants have been obtained for Theft by Shoplifting. Although we have not identified any ties to our area, it is believed they have been staying around the Murphy/Hayesville area for at least the past month. It is our belief that they have been spooked and are now on the run as they were last seen traveling in the Midwest US.

Why all the hoopla over a belt being stolen? We have received questions as to the status of this case, because all of the traction it has garnered from social media. We also want to highlight that it does not matter how small something may seem to some, the Sheriff’s Office will still investigate it to the best of our ability. This is someone’s livelihood, and these smaller thefts can cause a lot of problems in the future if not addressed. Of course, this cannot be done without the help of our local community. We are grateful to those that shared this video, and thankful to the local business that reached out and provided the information that they did. We are very fortunate to live in an area where we have such a great working relationship with our community. We also applaud the vendor that sounded the alarm (literally) that day as this could have prevented further thefts from other vendors.

Joseph and Jennifer Taaffe have not been arrested at this time, and are presumed innocent until tried in a court of law.

10/09/2026

FYI for anyone wanting to go shoot!

Due to the upcoming weather event we will be closed 10/10/26and reopen 10/11/26 as normal

10/08/2026

Update on Sorghum Festival and Parade!

🚨ALERT!!! 🚨Just passing along to help spread the word...

The first weekend of Sorghum in the Mountains, October 10th and 11th, as well as all associated festivities, including the Sorghum in the Mountains Parade, have been cancelled due to Hurricane Isaias. The severe weather, including high winds, rain, and thunderstorms, associated with Hurricane Isaias will begin late Friday night and continue through Sunday evening. The 2nd weekend of Sorghum in the Mountains, October 17th and 18th, will proceed as planned. The Sorghum in the Mountains Parade will now be held on Saturday, October 17th at 10:00 AM utilizing the route that has been presented. Please refer to the Sorghum in the Mountains website and social media platforms for any updated information. The Sorghum Stomp will also be moved to the 17th as well. Sorghum In The Mountains
www.sorghuminthemountains.com

10/06/2026

The annual Sorghum Festival parade will be held this Saturday at 10 a.m. Due to construction taking place on Blue Ridge St, the parade route will follow a different path this year.

All parade vehicles will line up in the open field where the old red gym used to be located on School Cir. The parade will go down England St and turn right onto Kimsey St. The parade will continue down Kimsey St and turn right onto Cleveland St. It will then continue down to the town square where it will go halfway around the square onto Pat Haralson Dr. It will then turn right onto Young Harris St, continue down to School Cir, and turn right onto School Cir. The parade will continue back around to the starting point on School Cir.

Roads will start being closed down around 9:30 a.m., so you will want to make sure that you are in place before then. We hope to see everyone there!

09/29/2026

Last Tuesday, September 22nd, your Union County Sheriff’s Office and Union County Fire Department came together once again for a great event serving the children of Union County. We held our first, of what we hope to be many, joint car seat event at the Union County Primary School. This event was set up so that after parents picked their children up from the car rider line at the Primary School, they could have their child’s car seat checked if they wanted to by pulling over into the designated area.

We had certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPSTs) on scene to check the car seats of those that wanted the extra peace of mind. These checks included making sure children are in the right size car seat for their height/weight, confirming that the car seats were not under a current recall, determining if the car seats were faulty/expired, and assuring that the car seats were properly installed and were being used in accordance with manufacturer requirements. To ensure a quick and efficient process, we had several CPST volunteers on scene from numerous agencies. We would like to extend our gratitude to not only those deputies and firefighters from our agencies that showed up, but also those CPSTs and volunteers from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS), Georgia State Patrol, Woodstock Police Department, Dawson County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Department of Public Health, and the Union County Health Department. We could not have done this event without their help and expertise. We would also like to thank Union County Schools and the Union County Schools Police Department for assisting in coordinating this event at the Primary School.

With the help of these agencies, we were able to check the car seats of 17 children. There were 6 car seats that were identified as faulty, expired, or incorrect size for the child. They received FREE car seats from the Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department.

If you would like to have your child’s car seat checked by a CPST, but you could not make the event, please feel free to call either of the following agencies and set up an appointment for having your child’s seat checked.

Union County Sheriff’s Office – (706) 439-6066
Union County Fire Department – (706) 439-6095

09/26/2026

Tomorrow, the annual Six Gap Bicycle Race will be held beginning early in the morning in Lumpkin County and it will last into the late afternoon, early evening. Please be cautious if you are out driving the mountain tomorrow as the area could see 1,000+ cyclists throughout the day. Remember, Georgia law states that if you are overtaking a bicyclist, you need to maintain a safe distance of at least three feet when passing. Please use caution and do not overtake in blind curves or hillcrests.

The affected roadways will include portions of US 129 S, Richard Russell Scenic Hwy, Wolf Pen Gap Rd, SR 180 E, and SR 60. Russell Scenic Hwy (SR 348) will be closed to vehicular traffic at the gates per GA DOT. If you are traveling into Helen, Hiawassee, or Dahlonega, just keep in mind that some of their roadways will be affected as well.

09/21/2026