Authorities trying to identify man found dead in Athens and determine cause of death

By Joe Johnson

The body of a man was found last weekend in the woods between the Georgia Division of Family Services and Advanced Auto Parts on North Avenue.

Authorities as of Tuesday were working on trying to determine his identity and the cause of death.

The badly-decomposed body possibly had been there for over a month prior to being discovered on Sunday, according to Athens-Clarke County Coroner Sonny Wilson.

“ It will be dependent on the Crime Lab to determine his identity and cause of death due to the decomposition,” Wilson said, adding that nothing was found at the scene to aid in identification.

According to a coroner, the man appeared to have been white and possibly six feet tall,