Clayton County police are asking the public to help identify a man whose remains were found near Southern Road in Morrow, releasing a forensic sketch Tuesday in hopes that someone recognizes his face. Investigators believe he was between 50 and 60 years old, but his name, his story, and how he died remain a mystery months after his body was discovered.
The remains were found in the area of Southern Road back on March 15, according to 11alive.com. Police have not disclosed exactly where the body was found, when it was found beyond that date, or the manner of death, according to Atlanta News First. Few details have been released at all about the man's death or how his body came to be discovered, as ajc.com also reported, leaving the case largely defined by what investigators still do not know.
A Face Built From Bone
With no name and no witnesses to lean on, investigators turned to forensic science to put a face to the case. The sketch depicting how the man may have looked was created by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's forensic artist, per 11alive.com's reporting. Police released the rendition this week, nearly seven months after the remains were first found, and are asking anyone who recognizes the man in the drawing to come forward.
Clayton County police said even a small detail could provide investigators with valuable information and help bring answers to his family and loved ones, according to the same station's account. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective J. Langley at 678-610-4786, or to submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at (404)-577-TIPS, the outlet reported. Atlanta News First also lists a separate Clayton County police line, 770-477-3747, for tips in the case.
Other Unidentified Remains Cases in Clayton County
The Southern Road case is not the first time Clayton County investigators have had to work backward from unidentified remains to a name. In February 2024, skeletal remains found in Jonesboro were eventually identified as Gerald Fletcher, who was born in 1962, according to DNA Solves. That case sat in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as case UP123477 before investigators partnered with the forensic genetics lab Othram in 2025 to use DNA-based identity inference to crack it, per the same account.
More recently, a separate discovery of human remains was reported at a recycling plant and dump site on Grant Road in Conley, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Authorities there were working to identify the remains and determine how they ended up at the industrial site, the station reported. There is no indication that the Grant Road case or the 2024 Jonesboro case are connected to the man found on Southern Road, and police have not said whether they are related.
For now, the Southern Road case remains a developing story, with investigators hoping that a published sketch succeeds where physical evidence has not. Until someone comes forward, the man found near Southern Road has no name, and his family has no answers about what happened to him.
