Man led group to Macon homicide victim's body, but left when someone called police

After a gray-bearded white man said to a group of four men at the Bloomfield Recreation Center that there was a body behind the gym, the group went to see for themselves.

None of them knew the middle-aged man wearing a camouflage hat, but they followed him into the woods anyway.

It was there that they saw the body of 21-year-old Neil Patel, face-down on the cold ground about 500 feet from Lions Place.

When one of the men decided to called 911, the mystery man who had led them there left, according to a Bibb County sheriff's incident report obtained by The Telegraph on Thursday.

Investigators arrived at the recreation center off Rocky Creek Road on Dec. 21 just before noon.

Patel's identity remained a mystery for days while authorities interviewed families of similar-looking people who've been reported missing. His family in New Jersey got word of the killing over the Christmas holiday.

Patel, his hair dyed red, was wearing black shorts, a blue shirt and black Converse sneakers when he was shot to death, the report said.

Neighbors in the area told a Telegraph reporter they heard several gunshots a couple of nights before Patel's body was found.

A woman who lives on Southview Drive, near its intersection with Lions Place, told police her children saw a car parked in front of her house two days before Patel's body was found. The children also heard gunshots coming from behind her house, where Patel was found.

Public information officers for the Bibb County Sheriff's Office could not say Thursday whether investigators had any leads in the case.

Anyone with information about this crime is urged to call Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68-CRIME, or call the sheriff's office at 478-731-1541.

Laura Corley 744-4334; @Lauraecor

This story was originally published December 28, 2017 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Man led group to Macon homicide victim's body, but left when someone called police."