21-Year-Old’s Body Found In Wooded Area Of Georgia Park, Authorities Are Investigating It As A Suicide

The body of a 21-year-old man was discovered in a wooded area of Fair Oaks Park in Marietta, Ga., on Wednesday morning, according to Cobb County police. The victim has not been identified, but local authorities have already reported that detectives found no signs of foul play and have “determined the death is being investigated as a suicide.”

According to the Marietta Daily Journal, the Cobb Police’s Rangers Unit, which patrols the county’s park properties, responded to the scene after a 911 caller reported a dead body in the area. From there, officers with the Ranger Unit secured the scene and called the department’s Major Crimes Unit to investigate the death.

From MDJ:

Detectives reviewed surveillance footage from the park and surrounding areas, interviewed witnesses and collected physical evidence from the scene, where witnesses reported seeing the man enter the wooded area alone on Feb. 14 at approximately 4:28 p.m.

Police say there are no signs of foul play, and detectives found no evidence indicating that anyone else was involved in the man’s death. As a result, detectives have “determined the death is being investigated as a suicide,” according to Officer Aaron Wilson, spokesperson for the department.

Officials confirmed that the man’s next of kin had been notified, and because mysterious deaths that are swiftly ruled a suicide appear to happen all too often, and tend to result in distrust of local law enforcement, the department’s spokesperson made a statement that appeared to be meant to get in front of that kind of public response.

“We understand that incidents like this can cause concern within the community,” Wilson said. “The Cobb County Police Department takes every death investigation seriously and conducts a thorough review of all available evidence before making any determinations.”

As it stands, the investigation remains ongoing, pending final autopsy results from the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office. We’ll update this story as more details emerge.

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