JONES COUNTY, Ga. — The Jones County Sheriff's Office needs your help solving a case.
They're asking for the public's help to identify a man found dead late last month.
The identity of an elderly man discovered on Cheehaw Trail right off Howard Roberts Road just three weeks ago has remained a mystery to Jones County investigators.
Now, after looking into some leads, investigators believe the man may have been dead before he ended up there.
Lt. Kenny Gleaton with the Jones County Sheriff's Office says the investigation began on the morning of December 27.
A county worker discovered a body covered up on Cheehaw Trail.
Weeks later, investigators are still working to identify the man.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation's forensic artist provided a sketch of what investigators believe the man may have looked like. He was approximately 5-foot 8 inches tall and between the ages of 65 and 80 years old.
The sheriff's office says the man was found without clothes with his body covered in a blanket and a red-and-black shirt.
"The person appears to be severely malnourished, and it did appear to be some evidence of perhaps neglect," said Lt. Gleaton.
Gleaton says he and investigators believe the body was there for several days, but they also believe the man did not die in the spot they found him.
"It appears he was brought to that location by an unknown person and left there," Gleaton said.
The sheriff's office says it's still working through leads on who may have dropped off the body.
Gleaton explained, "We've collected fingerprints from the body and the GBI as a system as in search and that various databases."
At this point, the sheriff's office says it has not pinpointed an area this man could have come from, so they are asking everyone for help to identify him to possibly narrow down their investigation.
"I mean, somebody obviously knows how he got there. If anybody has a loved one or person in your life that fits this approximate description, you haven't seen or heard from this person in quite a while, you might do some calling around checking," Gleaton said.
Investigators say this has not been ruled a homicide yet. Also, they are still waiting to determine what the cause of death was in the case, but Gleaton says they're expecting to hear back from the GBI within the next several weeks.
This case is still under investigation. If you have any information, you can call the Jones County Sheriff’s Office at 478-986-3489.