Authorities have announced the cause of death for a hiker found “burned severely” last weekend in a Georgia nature preserve, the Associated Pressand local media outlet Atlanta News First (ANF) reported.
Stone Mountain Park Department of Public Safety spokesperson John Bankhead announced on May 31 that a burnt body had been discovered by another hiker on Stone Mountain at around 8:18 a.m. local time. Authorities arrived on the scene and found the body “burned severely.” They summarily located the victim’s wallet, which revealed the deceased to be a male in his 20s.
Following a brief investigation, authorities determined that the young man died by suicide. Investigators spoke with the man’s parents, who reported finding a note outlining how and where he planned to commit suicide. “This is the first time in my knowledge that something like this has happened,” Bankhead told ANF, adding that responding officers found the body “burned severely.” “Finding a body on top of the mountain—we’ve found bodies…but nothing like this, it’s very unusual,” he added. He added that the body was found “in an area that visitors usually don’t go to.”…