Mystery bones, possibly human, discovered inside suitcase near I-75 in Butts County
A man who stopped on the shoulder of Interstate 75 southbound in Butts County made a grisly discovery Thursday afternoon.
While looking for a tire he lost near Exit 201 some time ago, the man spotted a suitcase in the woods.
"He opened it just enough to see there was remains or possible bones in it," Butts County Coroner Ralph Wilson said. "Then he called 911."
The suitcase appeared to have been dumped there some time ago, the GBI said in a news release. Wilson said he suspected the suitcase had been there for at least a month.
Investigators for the Butts County Sheriff's Office and GBI crime scene investigators combed the area between the interstate and Harkness Road about 1:45 p.m. The crime scene was across the interstate from Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison.
Messages left for Butts County Sheriff Gary Long were not returned Thursday.
It would not be the first time human remains have been discovered along Middle Georgia interstates by happenstance.
The skeletal remains of a man were found on Interstate 16 in Twiggs County in June 2003 after a military convoy wrecked, causing a diesel fuel spillage. The bones of the man, whose identity remains unknown, were found only after a firefighter spotted them while wandering down an embankment to see how far the gas had spread. He probably died in 2001, forensic anthropologists determined.
The bones found in the suitcase Thursday will be sent to the GBI Medical Examiner's Office for examination. If the bones are human, forensic scientists will be able to determine the person's sex, race, age and, hopefully, manner of death.
Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to call the GBI Milledgeville at 478-445-4173, or call the sheriff's office at 770-775-8232.
Laura Corley 744-4334; @Lauraecor
This story was originally published December 28, 2017 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Mystery bones, possibly human, discovered inside suitcase near I-75 in Butts County."