Investigators: Grandmother may have been killed after stopping to help someone near Florence

GEORGETOWN − A woman who was fatally shot on a road outside of Florence might have been killed after stopping to help someone, officials said Thursday.

A $30,000 reward is being offered for information about the death of 70-year-old Diana Lynn Pier, whose body was found in the 4500 block of Country Road 245 on Aug. 4, Williamson County sheriff's Cmdr. John Foster said at a news conference in Georgetown.

Pier, who lived in Florence, was driving home from visiting a relative in Round Rock when the incident occurred, Foster said.

"We are talking about a 70-year-old, churchgoing woman who was a pillar of the community," Foster said. "She might have stopped to help someone on the side of the road, and quite honestly she might have seen something that another person didn't want her to see."

Since the shooting happened in a rural area, detectives don't have much information, he said. Investigators have said they are searching for a light-colored sedan, possibly silver or gray, last seen in the area around the time of the shooting.

"We are trying to talk to the suspect or suspects, and personally I don't think that person has a soul or a heart because of the insane act of murdering a 70-year-old grandmother," Foster said. "I do believe another person knows what did occur and has information. They do have a conscience and they have a heart and want to do the right thing."

Authorities were alerted after a neighbor called 911 at 8:45 p.m. Aug. 4 about the shooting, investigators have said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's criminal investigations tip line at 512-943-1311 or contact Williamson County Crimestoppers at 1-800-253-7867. Crimestoppers is offering $5,000 of the reward for information; $25,000has been offered by an anonymous person, Foster said.

Two of Pier's daughters, Marsha Garcia and Kathryn Pier, were at Thursday's news conference, along with Pier's husband, John Pier.

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"To know Diana was to love Diana," Garcia said. "She was my mother, a wife, a sister, a grandmother and a true friend. ... Our family now has a void that cannot be filled. We want the truth about what happened."

John Pier said that he and his wife had been living mostly in the Round Rock area since 1985 and had moved to Florence about four years ago. He declined further comment.

A man who has a cattle ranch in the area where Diana Pier was shot said Thursday that the incident was "unbelievable."

"Nothing like that has ever happened here," said Todd Corwin. He said that since Pier's death, he has increased security on his ranch, including locking up all his vehicles.

According to Pier's obituary, she and her husband were going to travel to Italy to celebrate their 44th year of marriage. She was a legal secretary, a notary and worked at Exfluor/FluoroMed for 24 years as a document controller, the obituary said.

She had belonged to St. Helen Catholic Church in Georgetown, the obituary said. She also belonged to Saint William Catholic Church in Round Rock for 35 years, where she taught and sang in the choir, according to the obit.

It said she led the children's story hour at the Florence Public Library as a volunteer, was on the board of Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery, was the bereavement leader of Christ Child Society and provided care to elderly people.

"Her zeal to always learn more and experience life led her to worldwide travel to Aruba, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, France, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, and Diana even trekked the El Camino in Spain," the obituary said.