DALTON, Ga. — An investigator from the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office said authorities are making progress in the homicide investigation of a male body discovered Tuesday afternoon burned in the woods near the Carbondale Road exit of Interstate 75 in the southern end of the county. 

“We are following some leads on getting an identification, but nothing positive yet,” Capt. Rick Swiney said Wednesday. “We feel like if we can get him identified it is half the battle right there, and then see who his enemies might be.”

Swiney wouldn’t say whether those leads were local or involved a search from outside of the area. Earlier in the day, Swiney said investigators hoped to identify the body quickly to assist in the death investigation. 

“If it is someone from our immediate area, we hope we can get an identity today,” he said. “If it was someone traveling down the interstate and they just decided to stop at the Carbondale exit, it could take a little more time.”

Swiney confirmed the body was discovered by a juvenile walking through the woods near his home at the dead end of Ellis Road off of Dug Gap Road west of I-75. Swiney said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the coroner’s office have been assisting in the effort. 

“The only thing we are releasing at this point is that a body was discovered around 5 p.m. by a kid in the woods next to his house,” Swiney said. “The body had been there less than 24 hours when it was discovered and the body was burned. About the only thing we can tell right now is it was a male.”

According to a press release from Sheriff Scott Chitwood sent out after The Daily Citizen broke the story Wednesday morning, the call to Whitfield County 911 was made at 4:38 p.m. and the person who discovered the body was identified as a 13-year-old male. No identification was found on the body. 

The body was taken to the state crime lab for an autopsy. Swiney said deputies searched the area through the night Tuesday looking for any clues to the identity of the body or to find a motive for its burning. 

“Last night was spent trying to search the area for any more evidence,” Swiney said. “We are starting to contact other agencies about missing persons, trying to confirm the identity of this person.”

Press statement from Chitwood: “On Jan. 10, 2017, at approximately 4:38 p.m., the Whitfield County 911 Center received a call concerning a body being discovered in a wooded area at the dead end of Ellis Road. The body was discovered by a 13-year-old male that lived in the area and was walking in the woods. Upon arriving at the scene officers discovered the deceased body of a male subject that had been placed in the woods and set on fire. We believed the body had been at the location less than 24 hours. No identification was found on the body and officers are in the process of trying to determine his identity. The body will be transported to the GBI crime lab for an autopsy. The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office is being assisted in the investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the coroner’s office.”