By Joe Johnson
The body that was pulled from the North Oconee River Sunday has been identified as that of 31-year-old Tracy A. Brenning of Athens, Athens-Clarke County police announced Thursday morning.
According to Athens-Clarke County Coroner Sonny Wilson, the body was spotted at about 2:30 p.m. by a resident of Waterford Condominiums on Wilkerson Street who was on his balcony facing the river.
The badly-decomposed body appeared to have been in the water for several weeks, according to Wilson, who said a fingerprint match confirming it was Brenning’s body was made at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Lab.
Police said they were awaiting autopsy results from the Crime Lab to determine the cause of death,
Wilson said notification about the death was made to a family member in Marissa, Ill., where Brenning was raised.
The woman’s Facebook profile indicated she was living in Athens by 2019, and the coroner said Brenning was homeless and known to reside in a camp off of North Avenue.
The investigation is ongoing, and police asked for anyone with pertinent information to contact Detective Sean McCauley at (762) 499-7061 or michael.mccaulewy@accgov.com