Sheriff sends two bodies from Mount Yonah to GBI crime lab

A hiker found the remains of two people on Mount Yonah in White County, Georgia, at about 11:20 a.m. on Sept. 9, and by the following afternoon investigators had released no names, no ages, no genders and no cause of death.

The remains were taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab for an autopsy that will determine how the two died and who they were, White County Sheriff Rick Kelley said in a press release issued Thursday afternoon and reported by Fox News. Investigators were still working to identify them. Kelley called the case active and ongoing.

Sheriff's investigators and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources went to the mountain after the hiker called law enforcement, and the sheriff's office then asked the GBI's Region 8 Crime Scene Unit to help process the site, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. The bureau's Region 8 investigative office is in Cleveland and covers 14 north Georgia counties.

What the sheriff has confirmed

The sheriff's office news release says its investigators responded alongside the Department of Natural Resources and that the GBI unit was requested to assist in processing the scene, CBS News' Atlanta station reported. The release does not say where on the mountain the bodies were found, and authorities have not described the condition of the remains or what was recovered near them.

The hiker has not been publicly identified. The sheriff's office said the discovery was reported immediately, and Fox 5 Atlanta reported that investigators were following up on leads in an attempt to identify the bodies. Two days after the call, no identifications had been announced.

The sheriff's office has not said whether the two people were found together, and it has not said whether their deaths are related.

The sheriff's office has not said whether foul play is suspected. Its public account goes no further than the request for state crime scene help and the transfer of the remains to the lab. Authorities have not described the distance between the bodies.

Three agencies, one scene

The White County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation. The Department of Natural Resources responded to the mountain and is assisting, and the GBI's Region 8 unit was brought in for the crime scene work. The state crime lab in turn holds the remains, which were sent there for autopsy and identification.

The hiker's report reached law enforcement at approximately 11:20 a.m. on Sept. 9, a Wednesday. The press release describing the transfer of the remains to the crime lab followed on Thursday afternoon, more than a day after the discovery.

The human remains located on Mt. Yonah have been sent to the GBI crime lab for an autopsy to determine cause of death and for identification purpose

Kelley said his office would release more information as it becomes available. In remarks reported by Fox News Digital, he said investigators had nothing further to add at that point and were working to identify the remains, and he described the case as very active.

The mountain and the record

The sheriff's office puts the hiker's report at about 11:20 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9. Two national outlets placed the discovery on the Tuesday; that is wrong.

Mount Yonah sits in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest between Cleveland and Helen, about 80 miles north of Atlanta. The U.S. Geological Survey puts the summit at about 3,166 feet above sea level, and the Forest Service gives the trail to the top as 2.1 miles.

Authorities have not said whether the two people were hikers. No identifications had been announced as of Sept. 10.

Officials have given no indication of how long the bodies had been on the mountain before the hiker came across them.

Investigators have not said whether either person died from injuries, from exposure or from another cause. No manner of death has been announced, and the presence of a state crime scene unit at the site has not been explained beyond the sheriff's request for help processing it.

No further updates had been made public as of Sept. 10, and the case remained active and multi-agency.

The mountain and the Army

Mount Yonah doubles as a training ground for the U.S. Army's 5th Ranger Training Battalion, headquartered nearby at Camp Frank D. Merrill, which uses the peak's granite outcroppings for military mountaineering instruction. The Army trains there under a longstanding agreement with the Forest Service; the trail to the summit is public and open year round.

Two days without identifications

Two people found dead on a north Georgia mountain remain unnamed two days after a hiker came across them. The White County Sheriff's Office has not released their ages or genders. It has not said how they died, or how long the remains had been on Mount Yonah before the hiker reported them on Sept. 9.

Identification and cause of death now rest with the GBI crime lab, which received the remains after the scene work was finished. No timeline for results has been made public, and officials have given no date for when more information might be released. The sheriff's office and the GBI have said updates will be provided as more details become available.

Anyone with information about the deaths is asked to call the White County Sheriff's Office, CBS News' Atlanta station reported.

Earlier deaths on the peak

Two soldiers were killed and three others injured on Aug. 9, 2022, when a tree fell during severe weather while they took part in Army training on the mountain. The Army identified them as Staff Sgt. George Taber and 2nd Lt. Evan Fitzgibbon.

On Oct. 16, 2022, Srinath Ganguri, 33, of Alpharetta, died after falling from the rock-face side of the mountain while hiking with his wife, and authorities said at the time that they did not suspect foul play. On Oct. 13, 2020, Jennifer Randel, 46, of Cartersville, died after falling more than 300 feet from the rock face while hiking with her husband and son.

On Aug. 25, about two weeks before the bodies were found, rescue crews used a drone and rope systems to reach a climber stranded on a narrow ledge 260 feet up Mount Yonah's cliff face and hoisted him to the summit. White County opened Fire Station 9 on Sonnys Circle on June 11, citing growth, tourism, fire protection and response times in the Mount Yonah area; it answered a mountain rescue call the same evening.

Authorities have not publicly tied the current investigation to any earlier case near Mount Yonah. Nothing released so far indicates whether the September deaths involved an accident or another cause.

The crime lab's findings on cause of death and identity have not been announced, and the sheriff's office has not said when they are expected. Kelley said his office would give an update when additional information becomes available. Until then, the public account of the two deaths on Mount Yonah begins and ends with a hiker's call at 11:20 a.m.