DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County police identified the person found dead in Misty Lake on Monday.
The body was identified as Joanne Howell, who had been the subject of a Mattie’s Call.
She was reported missing Friday. The investigation into the matter is ongoing, officials said.
Neighbors in an Ellenwood subdivision told Channel 2’s Steve Gehlbach that they woke up to police and fire trucks on their street.
The body was found in a small, private lake tucked behind homes in the Misty Lake neighborhood.
DeKalb police and fire rescue responded a little after sunrise.
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Members of the water rescue team used an inflatable boat to recover the person.
Neighbors told Gehlbach that they don’t know of any reports of anyone missing from the community, and hope this was a tragic accident and not a crime.
“Nowadays, you see people say things don’t happen in your neighborhood. You can never tell. And I’m praying that … [I] hate that he’s deceased but praying that it was a drowning and not someone got killed and put out there. So, praying it was a drowning,” witness Pam Parham said.
Gehlbach said he saw police officers and detectives returning to the subdivision a little later in the morning to continue investigating.