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A hiker discovered a severely burned body Saturday near the top of Stone Mountain Park, a popular tourist destination in Georgia.
The Stone Mountain Park Police Department responded to a 911 call that came in around 8:18 a.m. from a hiker who said they had found the deceased male body under a rock crevice at the park near the top of the mountain, Fox 5 reports.
Dispatchers did not get the caller’s identity, so they arrived at the park, focusing their search on a wooded area near the mountain's summit.
The area is located a few hundred feet from the Skyride cable car, which transports visitors to the top, according to the outlet.
"The body was under an overhang, a rock overhang, and somebody had piled up rocks in front of the overhang to make it very private,” John Bankhead of the Stone Mountain Park PD said.
“And it's a number of rocks that, you know, you see around this area of the mountain. It's not in an area where hikers usually go. It's, you know, out of the way. People don't know it's there,” he added.
The shocking discovery caused Skyride to shut down for several hours, but it has since reopened to the public as of the time of this publication. The park continues to allow visitors access to the trails.
The deceased man’s identity and death date are unknown at this time. His body will be sent to the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.
Investigators said they would like to speak to the 911 caller or anyone else with information about this case, the outlet reports.
Members of the public should not be concerned about their safety at the park, officials said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is handling the death investigation.
The Independent has contacted representatives for the Stone Mountain PG and GBI for comment.
Bankhead told Fox 5 that the scene of the “unusual” situation is “one of the weirdest" he has ever seen.
"I've seen nothing like it, and I don't recall something like this ever happening at the park," Bankhead said.
