Man Pulled From Allatoona Lake Was Shot In Head

BARTOW COUNTY, GA — It's been nearly two months, and the Bartow County Sheriff's Office is still working to identify the man whose body was pulled from Allatoona Lake. Investigators with the agency are hoping the public can help them piece together enough clues to unearth the man's identity.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources game wardens were called around 5:40 p.m. Sept. 1 about the body found in the water on Allatoona Lake near the Bethany Bridge area of Red Top Mountain Road. The man's body was removed from the water and sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for an autopsy and identification. However, BCSO investigators have not made any progress on that front.

The agency held a press conference Monday, Oct. 29 to provide more details in this mysterious case. The victim is a white male between 55 and 65 years old. He is about 5'10'' tall and weighs 230 pounds, said BCSO spokesperson Sgt. Jonathan Rogers.

At the time of body's recovery, the man was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, black swimming flippers and a backpack filled with sand and rocks. He also had a rope with a small anchor tied around his waist and ankle weights strapped to his feet. Sgt. Rogers said the male also suffered a gunshot wound to his right temple.

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At this point, detectives have not been able to determine the cause of death and how long he was in the water before he was discovered, Rogers said Monday. He did note homicide has not been ruled out of the equation.

"This is a difficult case," Rogers said, adding the victim had no identifying marks. Surrounding agencies have not reporting a man matching his description as missing, he added. There's also no indication where the victim entered the water, but the corpse did undergo a significant level of decomposition.

Rogers also said the amount of weight attached to the victim would not have been enough to hold him under water, and that no firearm has been recovered from the area where the body was found. BCSO said it's hoping these details will jog the memory of those in the public, and propel them to come forward to provide any details leading to the man's identity.

The GBI Medical Examiner performed the autopsy on Sept. 4, and fingerprint comparisons and facial recognition software have not identified the man. A sketch of what the man may have looked like before his death has been released.

Anyone with information about the man's identity is asked to contact the Bartow County Sheriff's Office tip line at 770-387-5100 or email tipline@bartow.org.

Image via Bartow County Sheriff's Office