The Mountaineer

Haywood County authorities expect autopsy reports later today to help investigators determine the identification and cause of death of a body found Monday afternoon in the Fines Creek area. 

Meanwhile, Chief Deputy Larry Bryson said the death is being treated as suspicious.

Authorities received a call around 3 p.m. Monday from a hunter who discovered the lifeless body approximately 25 to 30 feet over an embankment on Panther Creek Road. The unidentified male subject appears to be in his 30s, Bryson said.

Detectives believe the body may have been there for at least two days.

Investigators working with the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigations spent early morning hours Tuesday searching for clues and following leads to determine the body’s identity and cause of death.

“We are treating it at this time as a suspicious death because we don’t know how it got there. There was no vehicle nearby,” said Bryson. “I don’t want to say much more about the body at this time, in case it turns into a homicide.”

Detectives said fingerprints, other markings and next of kin will help to identify the body, but no final ruling will be made until an autopsy has been performed, the results available late today. At that time, authorities will also know the cause of death and which direction the investigation should proceed.

“We need to know the preliminary cause of death so we know what exactly to look for,” said Bryson. “It’s likely that to make a positive identification, we’re going to have to tie that to some part of the autopsy as well. … If in fact he’s been down there longer than two days, (certain evidence) could be covered up. The official cause of death from the state medical examiner is what we’re waiting for to direct our movement for the next couple of days.”

Individuals concerned about the whereabouts of another person frequently file reports, Bryson said, so while there may be pending reports of missing people, it doesn’t help single out the identity of this body. The course of the investigation is hinging on the autopsy report, expected to be released later today.

“We haven’t ruled anything out. It’s a suspicious death, because there’s no vehicle out there,” said Bryson. “It’s opened up Pandora’s box of questions and we can’t answer any of those for certain at this time.”