The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI are asking for the public’s help identifying a man whose severed head was found near Interstate 85 in Jackson County nearly two decades ago.
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Hikers discovered the remains near the I-85 bridge over the Oconee River in April 2008. Investigators believe the victim died from a gunshot wound to the head and that the remains may have been thrown from a southbound vehicle traveling across the bridge. The rest of the victim’s body has never been found.
Investigators say the victim’s remains may have been at the scene for as long as a year and a half before they were discovered.
The FBI joined the investigation in 2025 after funding from the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) allowed investigators to develop a DNA profile.
New DNA analysis indicates there’s a 70% chance the victim was descended from people from the Horn of Africa — including Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia — and about a 30% chance he had ancestry from the Middle East or North Africa.
The GBI also released an updated facial reconstruction based on the DNA findings after years of unsuccessful dental comparisons with missing persons cases.
Investigators are asking anyone who recognizes the sketch or has information about someone who disappeared around 2008 to contact the GBI. Authorities say tips can be submitted anonymously.
“Anyone who has lost a friend or a loved one around the 2008 time period... if they could come forward and provide any information, that would be tremendously helpful,” FBI Special Agent Michael Baldino said.
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