December 6, 2004
Beachton-- GBI agents are still trying to identify skeletal remains found on a hunting preserve yesterday. Hunters found the body in the woods near a busy highway. Nearby neighbors say they'll be worried until they find out what happened.
Beachton is a small unincorporated town, with little news. But now they've got something to talk about. "Oh certainly, yes, very much so," said Neighbor Margie Harris. On Sunday Harris heard the unsettling news. "It's quite scary to say the least," she says.
A partially decomposed body was found by hunterts in the woods less than a mile from busy U.S. 319 on the Quail Haven Hunting Preserve. GBI agents are confident the skeletal remains are male.
The crime scene is near the Georgia/Florida line, where strangers drive through all the time. "It's a busy highway, but the people passing through, they are not from around here, most of them so they are going back and forth," said Gas Station Owner Kirit Patel.
Making it tougher for investigators to find witnesses and for people like Harris to find security. "A little shaky last night when I first heard about it," Harris said. "It takes the innocence and sense of security away from you when something like this happens where you live."
An autopsy will hopefully determine when and how the man died. "The main thing that we want to know is what happened, who did it and get it resolved," said Harris.
Until then, this close knit community will be on guard and wait on the next break in this case. GBI agents are looking at missing person reports in Georgia and Florida.
posted at 5:25PM by dave.miller@walb.com
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