DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A body pulled from a private lake has been identified as a missing woman in DeKalb County.
Dekalb County police said it appeared Joanne Howell wandered away and drowned in the small body of water called Misty Lake.
They identified the 70-year-old woman Monday morning.
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Howell was seen last Friday night at her home not too far from the lake. She had been the subject of a Mattie’s Call.
Neighborhood residents noticed police and firefighters tape off an area with crime tape shortly before 7 a.m. Monday.
One neighbor from just a couple houses down spoke with Channel 2 News. Pam Parham, watched first responders pull the body out, thinking it was a man who had died.
“Nowadays you see people say things don’t happen in your neighborhood. You can never tell. And I’m praying that…hate that (she’s) deceased, but praying that it was a drowning and not someone got killed and put out there,” said Parham.
Neighbors said they saw nothing unusual on the water over the weekend, or knew of anyone missing from the community.
The case is still under investigation.
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