Georgia sheriff sends two Mount Yonah bodies to GBI crime lab

A hiker climbing Mount Yonah in north Georgia found the remains of two people at about 11:20 a.m. Wednesday, and the White County Sheriff's Office has since sent the remains to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab for autopsies to determine who they were and how they died. Deputies, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and a state crime scene unit responded to the peak, which rises between the north Georgia towns of Cleveland and Helen.

The human remains located on Mt. Yonah have been sent to the GBI crime lab for an autopsy to determine cause of death and for identification purpose. Investigators are working on trying to identify the two deceased persons. The investigation is active and ongoing.

The sheriff's office has not identified the two people or said how they died, according to Fox News. Their ages and genders have not been released, and it is unclear how long the remains had been on the mountain before the hiker came across them. The office has not said whether foul play is suspected. The investigation was still open on Sept. 10.

Deputies called in a state crime scene unit

Sheriff's investigators and personnel from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources went to the mountain after the hiker's report, the sheriff's office said. Deputies then asked for the GBI's Region 8 Crime Scene Unit to help process the area. The bureau's Region 8 investigative office is in Cleveland and covers 14 north Georgia counties. Local deputies and state crime scene investigators are working the case jointly. The sheriff's office has confirmed the case is an active, multi-agency effort.

The hiker, who reported the discovery immediately according to the sheriff's office, has not been publicly identified. Where on Mount Yonah the remains were found has not been disclosed, and CBS Atlanta reported that authorities released no details about the location on the mountain or the condition of the remains. Atlanta News First reported Wednesday that the sheriff's office said no further details were available at that point.

Involvement of a GBI crime scene unit does not by itself establish that the deaths were homicides. Authorities have said only that the unit was requested to assist in processing the scene, and they have announced neither a cause nor a manner of death. The sheriff's office has not publicly said whether foul play is suspected. It has described the matter as an ongoing investigation and said additional information would be released when available.

Investigators have not said whether the two people were hikers, whether they were together, or whether their deaths are related. Authorities have not described the distance between the bodies, their condition or any evidence found near them.

• Identities of the two people have not been released.
• Ages and genders have not been disclosed.
• No cause or manner of death has been announced.
• How long the remains were on the mountain is unknown.
• The exact spot where the remains were found has not been given.
• Investigators have not said whether the two deaths are connected.

Autopsies at the GBI Crime Lab are expected to help determine the identities of the two people and their causes of death, Now Georgia reported. Investigators are working to identify them. The sheriff's office has released no additional information about the circumstances surrounding the deaths, and officials have given no timeline for when more might be made public.

A granite dome between Cleveland and Helen

Mount Yonah, also called Yonah Mountain, rises from the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in White County, in northeast Georgia. The peak sits between the city of Cleveland and the mountain town of Helen, about 80 miles north of Atlanta and roughly a two-hour drive. A public trail runs to the summit, and the mountain draws heavy traffic from hikers and climbers.

The U.S. Geological Survey puts the summit at about 3,166 feet above sea level. A Forest Service planning document calls Mount Yonah the highest peak on the Dahlonega Plateau, the stretch of north Georgia it stands in, and gives the trail to the top as 2.1 miles.

Military mountaineering training tied to Ranger School has long used the mountain, according to the U.S. Army. The 5th Ranger Training Battalion, headquartered about 22 miles away at Camp Frank D. Merrill, uses Yonah's granite outcroppings for high-angle instruction. The Army trains there under a longstanding agreement with the Forest Service; no part of the peak is Army land.

Steep rock faces on the peak have been the site of fatal falls by hikers and climbers in past years, and the mountain has also seen deaths tied to severe conditions.

Earlier fatal falls and a training death

Srinath Ganguri, 33, of Alpharetta, died in October 2022 after falling from the rock-face side of Mount Yonah while hiking with his wife. Authorities said at the time that they did not suspect foul play. His death was one of several fatal incidents on the mountain in recent years.

Two soldiers were killed on the mountain two months earlier, on August 9, 2022, when a tree fell during severe weather while they were taking part in Army training. Staff Sgt. George Taber and 2nd Lt. Evan Fitzgibbon died, and three other soldiers were injured. The deaths happened on the slope of the peak used for Ranger School exercises.

Jennifer Randel, 46, of Cartersville, died on Oct. 13, 2020, after falling more than 300 feet from the rock face while hiking with her husband and son. White County emergency crews have been called to the mountain repeatedly for hikers and climbers in trouble.

Authorities have not publicly tied the current investigation to any earlier case near Mount Yonah. There is no evidence connecting the previous deaths to the remains found in September, and the case carries no public indication of whether foul play, an accident or another cause is involved. No identifications have been announced.

Remains sent to the state crime lab

A hiker reported finding the remains of two people on Mount Yonah at about 11:20 a.m. on September 9, the White County Sheriff's Office said. Deputies and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources responded, and the GBI's Region 8 Crime Scene Unit was asked to process the scene. The remains were later sent to the state crime lab, and Sheriff Rick Kelley said the investigation is active and ongoing.

No identities had been publicly released as of September 10, 2026. Kelley had not released the names of either person when the first reports were published, and authorities had not disclosed the sex or approximate age of either.

In a statement, the sheriff's office said it would give an update when additional information becomes available, The Daily Beast reported. Officials have not said when the autopsy results might be complete.

The terrain that draws hikers and climbers has proved dangerous for those who misjudge it, and White County has taken steps this year aimed at faster response times on the mountain.

On Aug. 25, about two weeks before the hiker's discovery, rescue crews used a drone and rope systems to reach a climber stranded on a narrow ledge 260 feet up Mount Yonah's cliff face and hoisted him to the summit, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

White County opened Fire Station 9 on Sonnys Circle on June 11, citing growth, tourism, fire protection and response times in the Mount Yonah area. It answered a mountain rescue call the same evening.

No cause of death announced

The case remains active and multi-agency, with the sheriff's office, the GBI's Region 8 unit and the state Department of Natural Resources all involved in the response. No identities, ages, genders or cause of death have been made public. Investigators have not said whether either person died from injuries, exposure, an accident or another cause, and they have not said how long the remains appeared to have been on the mountain.

Kelley said his office would provide more information as it becomes available. The GBI crime lab now has the remains, and the autopsies are intended to answer the two questions investigators say they cannot yet answer: who the two people were and what killed them.