Clarke County investigators believe a 22-year-old man accidentally fell from atop Murmur Trestle to his death.
Richard O. Sabine Jr., of Athens, was found near the bottom of the railroad trestle in the area known as Dudley Park around 4:10 p.m. Tuesday, according to Major Michael Shockley with Athens-Clarke County police.
The body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for an autopsy, Shockley said. Officers took measurements and determined where Sabine landed was not consistent with an intentional jump, the Athens Banner-Herald reported Wednesday.
Sabine was a member of the University of Georgia Class of 2011, according to his Facebook page. He attended Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School in Catoosa County.
The trestle, which dates back to the late 1800s, earned its nickname from its appearance on the back cover the R.E.M. album "Murmur." Athens-Clarke County bought the trestle for $25,000 in 2001 after railroad company CSX Transportation tore down part of it to sell for scrap, prompting outrage from R.E.M. fans.
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