Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Virginia State Police Trooper J.T. Brendel checks a car Sunday at the intersection of U.S. 220 and Virginia 687 in Hot Springs near The Homestead luxury resort.

Bath County Sheriff Larry Norfleet discusses the progress in the search for Beacher F. Hackney, who is suspected of killing two people at The Homestead on Saturday evening. The two victims were supervisors of the suspect, officers say.

James Gwin, a former Homestead employee, knew one of the employees killed at The Homestead on Saturday. "We have had some fights and brawls, but nothing like that," Gwin said.

HOT SPRINGS -- Authorities continued searching the Hot Springs area Sunday for the man accused of shooting and killing two of his supervisors at The Homestead, a luxury resort in Bath County.

An arrest warrant for capital murder has been issued for Beacher F. Hackney, 59, of Covington.

Bath County schools will be closed today, the Bath County Sheriff's Office said. It is unclear whether the closing was prompted by the ongoing search.

Hackney is a steward in the resort's main kitchen, where authorities believe he used a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol to shoot Ronnie Stinnett, 60, and Dwight Kerr, 39, about 8 p.m. Saturday.

Guests were dining and enjoying live music in a room next to the kitchen when the shooting happened. It was unclear if any of them heard or knew what had happened, resort spokeswoman Carol Stratford said. No one else was injured in the shooting.

Hackney fled on foot, and was last seen going south on U.S. 220 just outside the resort, Bath County Sheriff Larry Norfleet said.

Hackney's vehicle was found parked at the resort and has been towed to a secure location, state police said.

The pistol has not been recovered, and Hackney is considered armed and dangerous.

Police have not determined a motive but believe the shootings were planned, Norfleet said.

"It was too meticulously done not to be planned," he said.

Hackney has worked at The Homestead since 2003, and has no history of violent crime, Norfleet said.

Stinnett's and Kerr's bodies have been sent to the medical examiner's office in Roanoke for autopsy.

On Sunday, authorities continued searching the wooded, mountainous area surrounding The Homestead using a helicopter, tracking dogs and all-terrain vehicles.

The U.S. Forest Service, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Virginia State Police, and the Highland County and Alleghany County sheriffs' offices assisted Bath County authorities with the search.

Beacher Hackney

Norfleet did not know how much longer authorities would continue looking for Hackney.

State troopers had set up several checkpoints along U.S. 220, peering into car windows and looking in trunks.

Trooper J.T. Brendel was stopping vehicles at the intersection of U.S. 220 and Virginia 687, and said he had checked as many as 400 cars in several hours.

"It's a pretty quiet town," he said. "It's quite a shock."

At a nearby convenience store, Julie Hentsch manned the cash register. Customers had been coming into the store upset about what happened, she said.

"I think everybody feels safe," she said. "They've got a lot of manpower out here.

"I just hope they find this guy and get some answers."

Buddy Cauley, a Hot Springs resident and friend of Stinnett, said the community is reeling from the tragedy.

"It's been unreal," he said.

Cauley said he had known Stinnett since Stinnett was in high school.

"It was just a shock when they told me one of them was Ronnie. Cold chills just run all over you. It's been a heck of a night and day really," he said.

Stinnett's son, Michael Stinnett, was working as a security guard at the resort when the shootings occurred, Cauley said.

Michael Stinnett went to investigate the shooting, only to find that his father was one of the victims, Cauley said.

The family has been taking Ronnie Stinnett's death pretty hard, he said.

"Ronnie was dedicated to his job and family," he said.

A member of Stinnett's family declined to be interviewed, and Kerr's family could not be reached.

Damien Maiquez, a cook at the resort, described the victims as outgoing.

"They always keep you motivated," he said. "If you're down, they'll bring you up."

He said the kitchen where the shootings happened is a large, open room with work stations. He was not working at the resort on Saturday night.

"Everyone in the kitchen would have seen it [the shootings]," he said.

That kitchen was still closed Sunday, and Maiquez and others had to work out of the kitchen in the conference center, he said. The stewarding department, which is responsible for washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen, did not report to work Sunday, Maiquez said.

The rest of the resort continued business as usual on the day after the shooting. Two guests in the lobby read newspapers by a fireplace, and another sipped tea as a pianist filled the room with soothing melodies.

The 483-room resort was at about 70 percent capacity Saturday night, Stratford said. Guests were not notified of the shootings, but those who asked about the incident were informed.

Grief counselors were available for staff and guests, she said.

Hackney is a 5-foot-6-inch, 145-pound, balding white male. He wears glasses and was last seen wearing a light blue shirt, dark blue pants and jacket and black shoes. He is considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information about Hackney's whereabouts should call the Bath County Sheriff's Office at 839-5300.

Staff writer Duffie Taylor contributed to this report.