Officials are investigating after human remains were discovered Sunday night in a wooded area near a Commerce church.

The Banks County Sheriff’s Office said a real estate buyer was exploring property off Highway 59 near New Salem United Methodist Church when human bones were found, Lt. Carissa McFaddin said Monday.

"Due to the time of discovery,” she said, “the investigation was halted until daylight hours.”

The GBI is assisting the sheriff’s office in processing the scene. Once the scene is processed, the GBI will take over the investigation, McFaddin said.

Commerce is about 90 miles northeast of Atlanta.

GBI spokesman Bahan Rich said the identity of the remains is unknown at this time.

Anyone with information concerning the case is asked to call the GBI Athens office at 706-552-2309 or the Banks County Sheriff’s Office at 706-677-2248 and after hours at 706-677-1911.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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