A woman’s body was found Wednesday in a ditch on the northbound side of I-85 in Hapeville, police said.

A maintenance worker, Matthew Harris, found the body near Willingham Bridge, while doing routine work in the morning.

Harris told Channel 2 Action News he saw something unusual while dumping a barrel of weeds. He found clothes on a fence and looked around more.

Harris told the television station he thought the woman’s body was a mannequin at first, but when he got closer, he knew she was dead.

“She was basically face down in a ditch and I could tell because there were already flies around her, she was deceased,” Harris told Channel 2. “I didn’t get any closer. I backed away, called the police.”

Hapeville homicide detective Stephen Cushing said the woman didn’t appear to have been hit by a car and he didn’t think her body had been on the side of the interstate for more than 48 hours.

The medical examiner’s office would conduct an autopsy as part of an ongoing investigation, Cushing said.

About the Author

Keep Reading

A bicyclist rides on the Beltline by Krog Street Market in Atlanta on Sept. 16, 2025, just before the start of what experts projected would be an unseasonably warm fall. This week's temperatures are in line with that prediction, as highs are expected to tie or break records. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Featured

Rose Scott signals as Closer Look goes on air in the WABE studio. An Atlanta resident left WABE a $3 million donation, a boost after WABE lost $1.9 million in annual funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. (Ben Gray / AJC file)

Credit: Ben Gray