Hiker makes grisly discovery at Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park
A hiker who ventured to a popular hiking trail in the US has made a grim discovery while in the park.
The badly burned body of a young man was found by a hiker at the popular Georgia’s Stone Mountain State Park — east of Atlanta in Georgia — on Saturday morning local time.
Officials made the tragic determination after his parents found a note detailing his plans to end his life at the park, AP reported.
Police identified the dead man only as a white male in his late 20s. They found his driver’s license at the scene.
A hiker discovered the body and anonymously called emergency to report it around 8.18am local time, officials said.
His body was found in a rock crevice off the beaten path from the park’s popular walking trail, about 91 metres from a tower for its Summit Skyride cable car, which brings visitors the 250 metres up to the top of Stone Mountain outside of Atlanta.
He left his vehicle parked in the area, reports said.
Stone Mountain Park is described as the “largest high relief sculpture in the world,” depicting massive carvings of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.
The first sculpture was completed in 1924 and the last in 1972.
The park’s portrayal of the famous Confederates has had its share of controversy over the years, with it the site of protests both for and against it.
Earlier this year, a madman with a gun started firing off shots in the park.
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The man, armed with a semiautomatic pistol, sparked a manhunt inside the site after hikers reported hearing gunfire. As a park officer located and approached the suspect, the man reportedly asked if he was going to shoot him. When the cop responded no, the gunman put the weapon to his head and fatally shot himself.
No other park visitors or police were injured in the incident.
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been republished with permission
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