River of Death

Two more bodies in Atlanta

Two bodies were pulled from the cold water of the Chattahoochie River, southwest of Atlanta last week, bringing the city's death toll of black youths to 22 (two others are listed as missing). One victim, Timothy Hill, 13, was found tangled in some riverside underbrush by two men.

The following day, a canoeist discovered the body of Eddie Duncan Jr., 21, several miles downstream. The youths reportedly knew each other. They also shared traits with other Atlanta victims besides being black: they lived in low-income housing projects, did odd jobs for extra cash, probably died by asphyxiation and were found clad only in underpants.

Though older and bigger than most of the other victims, Duncan is said to have been mentally slow, with "the mind of a child." He lived at the Techwood Homes project, where hours before he disappeared a vigilante patrol armed with baseball bats set off on its first march to protect the neighborhood. Duncan had told friends that he was going to help someone move furniture and was last seen late at night on March 20 in a local grocery store. His parents say that he would not have gone near the Chattahoochie because he could not swim.

Timothy Hill had been missing since March 13. Though his case had been investigated by the police missing-persons department, it was not turned over to the special task force because Hill reportedly had a history of running away. Enrolled in a class for emotionally disturbed children at the Dean Rusk School, Hill was a likable boy who often earned money by helping shoppers carry their groceries.

Terry Nelson, director of the John J. Harland Boys Club, which Hill had joined at the age of six, remembers him as "a very vulnerable kid." Says Nelson: "He was afraid of large boys. They would threaten him sometimes, and he would do what they said to do." Two other members of the same boys club were Anthony Carter, 9, whose body was discovered last summer, and Joseph Bell, 16, who dis appeared March 2.

Hill's teacher at the school, Theresa Swindall, believes that she received two phone calls from Hill on the night of March 16. During the first call, at 10:30, Swindall thought she recognized Timothy crying on the other end. The phone rang again at 11:15. Recalls Swindall: "I said, 'Timothy' in my teacher's voice, and he paused and said, 'What?' " Then the receiver clicked down. -

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