Glynn County police officers discovered what appeared to be human skeletal remains in a wooded area near Wellness Way on St. Simons Island on Thursday afternoon, prompting an active death investigation that has since sent the remains to the state crime lab for identification. Officers responded to the scene around 3:30 p.m. on October 1 after receiving a report of suspected human remains in the area.
According to News4JAX, Glynn County police detectives and crime scene personnel canvassed the surrounding area, collected evidence and gathered additional information related to the investigation. The remains were subsequently sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab, where a forensic examination will help determine the identity of the deceased. Police said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
Outpatient Rehabilitation at Wellness Way
Wellness Way includes an outpatient rehabilitation center.
Much of that wooded buffer exists because of a 2023 conservation deal: the St. Simons Land Trust partnered with Southeast Georgia Health System to permanently protect the 10-acre “Gateway” property adjoining Wellness Way, preserving forest that connects to county-owned Gascoigne Bluff Park, the land trust has said. The property was previously owned by the Sea Island Company before it was acquired for preservation.
Part of a Pattern of Recent Discoveries on the Island
Part of a Pattern of Recent Discoveries on the Island This is not the first time in recent months that Glynn County police have opened a death investigation in the immediate vicinity. In July, officers investigated after a body was found near the St. Simons Marina in Gascoigne Bluff Park in a marina death probe; the marina was temporarily closed for scheduled maintenance, with reopening expected in August. Earlier that same month, patrol officers discovered a separate body in a wooded area off Spur 25.
Glynn County also has a documented history of recovering remains tied to missing persons cases. In January, police recovered human remains in Glynn County that were later determined to belong to 74-year-old Judy Ann Deen, a woman who had been reported missing and endangered two months earlier, according to Action News Jax. Investigators did not suspect foul play in that case.
What the Crime Lab Process Typically Involves
Under Georgia Code § 45-16-25, coroners or medical examiners are required to immediately take charge of skeletonized remains and summon law enforcement, with police maintaining primary jurisdiction over the scene while joint inquiries into cause and manner of death proceed, per Justia Law. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation Medical Examiner's Office provides forensic pathology and forensic anthropology services, including skeletal recovery and laboratory analysis, to 153 of the state's 159 counties, according to information published by Forsyth County.
Skeletal examinations can take weeks or months depending on the condition of the remains. When traditional anatomical identification is inconclusive, the GBI has increasingly turned to forensic genetic genealogy — a method the bureau's Cold Case Unit used in March to identify 1976 skeletal remains from Seminole County after 49 years, according to DNASolves. Federal NamUs records also list long-running missing persons cases originating in Glynn County, including 55-year-old James Wesley Usher, reported missing in March 2025, and 82-year-old Randall Palmer, missing since August 2000 — files investigators may cross-reference as identification work continues.
Key details remain unknown, including the estimated time of death, the age or gender of the deceased, and whether foul play is suspected.
