The GBI has identified a hiker found dead in late January near a popular backpacking trail in North Georgia.
The man was identified as 41-year-old Stephen Lucas Ryan of Pennsylvania, according to the GBI. No further information about Ryan was released, but the GBI said the identification was made with the help of the FBI and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
The GBI did not share Ryan’s cause of death or say if foul play was suspected.
The body was found Jan. 21 in the woods off the Benton MacKaye Trail, which overlaps with the Appalachian Trail, near Springer Mountain in Fannin County, the GBI said. The state agency published a sketch of the man’s face March 31 and asked for the public’s help in identifying him. The GBI also shared photos of some of the man’s clothing and gear, along with his hiking boots.
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