Hiker makes grisly discovery at Georgias Stone Mountain Park

The badly burned body of a young man was found at Georgia’s Stone Mountain State Park on Saturday morning, and authorities are now investigating his death.A hiker made the grisly discovery and anonymously called 911 to report it around 8:18 a.m., officials said.The Stone Mountain Police Department and Georgia Bureau of Investigation said they are working to determine what happened.The body was found in a rock crevice off the beaten path from the park’s popular walking trail, about 100 yards from a tower for its Summit Skyride cable car, which brings visitors the 825 feet up to the top of Stone Mountain outside of Atlanta.The dead man has not yet been identified publicly, but authorities believe they know who he is based on personal items found at the scene and a vehicle left parked in the area, reports said.Stone Mountain Department of Public Safety spokesman John Bankhead said an autopsy will be performed Monday by the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office, NBC News reported.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.The man, armed with a semi-automatic 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.The GBI deferred Post questions about Saturday’s grisly discovery to the Stone Mountain Police Department, which did not immediately respond ...