Virginia authorities are searching for a resort employee suspected of shooting and killing two of his supervisors in the hotel kitchen while guests ate dinner in a nearby dining room.

Bath County Sheriff Larry Norfleet said kitchen workers Ronnie Stinnett and Dwight Kerr were killed around 8 p.m. Saturday at The Homestead. The luxury resort is in the Allegheny Mountains near the West Virginia state line.

Sheriff H.R. Lightner from neighboring Highland County said suspect Beacher Ferrel Hackney has been charged with murder. Lightner is part of a team using tracking dogs, a helicopter and road checkpoints to search for Hackney.

Hackney was supervised by Stinnett and Kerr. All three worked in a department responsible for washing dishes, picking up trash and cleaning the kitchen. Norfleet said Stinnett and Kerr were shot with a semiautomatic handgun.

While Norfleet said he didn't know what might have caused the shooting, officials believe it was planned.