DALTON, Ga. — The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office says progress is being made in the investigation into a burned body found in the woods in south Whitfield County last week but is not releasing many new details other than the victim may be from another state. 

“There have been a few developments, and we think we have a tentative identification of the body,” Capt. Rick Swiney said Tuesday. “We don’t have anything at this time that points to it being anyone from here.”

The body of a male in his mid-20s was found in the woods at the end of Ellis Road near the Carbondale Road exit off Interstate 75 in southern Whitfield County by a 13-year-old boy on Jan. 10. No other identifying features such as race or ethnicity have been released, and Swiney said he wasn’t prepared to release any other identifying characteristics of the body “at this time.”

In a press release from the sheriff’s office later in the day, investigators pointed to a link between the body and a missing person’s report filed in another state “shortly after the body was discovered.”

“Investigators strongly feel the missing person and the discovered body are one in the same due to the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the individual and some identifying body similarities,” the release stated.

Which state the missing person’s report was filed in and what those similar characteristics are were not released. The sheriff’s office and investigators from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are working on the case. 

“Our investigators are working with law enforcement from the jurisdiction where the person was reported missing,” the release stated. “DNA has been collected and sent to the GBI Crime Lab to compare with our homicide victim. It may take several weeks before the lab can confirm if it is the missing person.”

The body was sent to the state crime lab shortly after it was discovered, but Swiney said a cause of death hasn’t been determined. 

“The crime lab is still working with it,” Swiney said. 

Swiney said three detectives are working the case and following up on leads. The charred body was sent to the state crime lab in hopes of identifying it after no identification was found at the scene.