LOWNDES COUNTY – We’re learning new details after a body was found near the Brooks-Lowndes County line on Thursday.
The body was discovered on the east side of the Withlacoochee River, between the Highway 84 bridge and the train trestle. A conductor on a CSX train spotted the body as the train was coming across the bridge.
Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk says the body is badly decomposed.
Authorities have not yet identified the body but say it appears to be a white male, small in stature, approximately 5’5″ tall and 140 to 150 pounds.
The crime lab is working on the identity and cause of death, but officials say they will probably not have those answers until later this week.
Sheriff Paulk says investigators suspect that the man went into the river near where his body was later found because socks and a shirt were also found at the scene.
Paulk also said his investigators do not believe the man died as the result of foul play, and the man does not match missing persons descriptions from the surrounding areas, according to reporting from the Valdosta Daily Times.
