Photos by Jared Soares | The Roanoke Times

Seven dogs, including cadaver dogs, were brought in to search part of a mountain in Hot Springs for a suspected gunman after two people were shot to death Saturday at The Homestead resort.

Maj. R.D. Chestnut of the Bath County Sheriff's Office briefs a search team with the Virginia Canine Response Team as they prepare to look for a weekend shooting suspect.

Kimberly Kerr, whose husband, Dwight, was killed Saturday in a shooting at The Homestead resort, has received an outpouring of food and help from family and friends. At top: Dwight Kerr, who was a supervisor in the resort's stewarding department, is believed to have been killed by one of his workers.

HOT SPRINGS -- Search dogs combed a mountain one last time Wednesday in pursuit of the man who officials have said shot and killed his supervisors at The Homestead.

The dogs didn't find a trace of Beacher Hackney, ending the ground search, said Maj. R.D. Chestnut of the Bath County Sheriff's Office.

"This just confirms what we've already done," Chestnut said. "Unless we have a reason to be somewhere else, we're not going to be in the woods."

The sheriff's office will continue to follow up on leads.

Hackney, 59, is wanted in the slayings of Ronnie Stinnett and Dwight Kerr. They were Hackney's supervisors in the stewarding department at the luxury resort.

Video surveillance from the resort shows Hackney calmly walking out of The Homestead and past several people on Saturday after the shootings, Chestnut said.

Hackney's Chevrolet Blazer was found in an employee parking lot behind Hot Springs Presbyterian Church.

Search dogs picked up Hackney's scent in that parking lot Saturday night. Dogs tracked the scent to the edge of the lot, but lost it at the bottom of the nearby mountain, Chestnut said.

In the past four days, authorities have searched that area using helicopters, tracking dogs and all-terrain vehicles. Wednesday's search was also centered there.

The results of the most recent search confirmed to Bath County investigators that Hackney is not in that area.

"We're doing this just to make sure," Chestnut said. "It's easy to miss things. These dogs usually don't."

The seven dogs, including cadaver dogs, were brought in by volunteers with Dogs East and the Virginia Canine Response Team.

A funeral for Stinnett is today. He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a lifelong resident of Bath County. Stinnett, 60, is remembered for his love of hunting and fishing in the area.

Kerr, 31, was from Jamaica and came to the United States in 2000 as part of a work exchange program at the hotel.

On Wednesday, Kimberly Kerr was planning her late husband's funeral, which is scheduled for Tuesday, she said.

The kitchen of their small Covington apartment was filled with cakes from friends, and Kimberly Kerr's mother and sister were there helping care for the couple's 21-month-old daughter.

Kerr said that when they were at the cemetery picking out a burial plot, her daughter yelled, "Daddy!" and pointed out the car window.

"I know he's still here and he's not leaving us," she said.

She remembered her late husband as someone who loved to cook and dance.

"He's just a real jovial person," she said. "Real upbeat."