Police: Body found in wooded area of Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - There was a growing concern in Hall County Friday after human remains were found in a wooded area.

Gainesville police responded to the scene near Lee Street and Rainy Road around 11 a.m. Friday morning.

Police worked well into the evening to try to identify the person but one Gainesville resident feared the worst because a distant relative, who lives on the street, is missing. Gainesville resident Jack Waldrip owns commercial property that backs up to the wooded area where police found human remains. When Waldrip heard the news, he rushed over to check on a distant relative who lives near the property.

“We knocked on the door, didn’t get an answer,” said Waldrip. “We also opened the door and didn’t get an answer.”

Waldrip said he hasn’t seen or heard from his relative in weeks and neither have any of the neighbors.

“He’s an older man who is a hermit and has lived in this house forever,” said Waldrip.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called in to assist, the remains have now been taken to the GBI crime lab for an autopsy. It’s unclear how long the remains had been in the woods or the circumstances surrounding the person’s death. Investigators won’t know until the autopsy is complete whether the death is suspicious

Meanwhile, police are asking for the public’s help.

“If they have seen anything suspicious to contact the Gainesville police department,” said Lt. Andy Smith, Gainesville Police Department.

And Waldrip said, that’s exactly what he had been trying to do all afternoon.

“I would think the police would have checked the house but I don’t know,” said Waldrip. “If someone would just call us back.”

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call investigators at 770-534-5252.