Authorities recovered the body of a man floating in Center Hill Lake last Wednesday, April 6, near the Johnson’s Chapel Recreation area. Law enforcement has yet to identify the remains, but say it matches the description of a man reported missing last month from Putnam County.

According to DeKalb Sheriff Patrick Ray the body was discovered by a fisherman in about 3-4 feet of water, and was nude, except for the pair of socks he was wearing with a small wallet tucked into the socks. The wallet contained identification, but the name has not been released pending a positive identification. The remains have been sent to Nashville for an autopsy.

“Today [April 6] at 1:23 p.m. there was a 911 transfer call from the White County to DeKalb County Central Dispatch. The caller stated that there was a body in the water floating near the bank and boat ramp at Johnson’s Chapel,” Sheriff Ray said.

“When we arrived on the scene, we found the body of a white male. We called the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad and TWRA and they assisted in retrieving the body from the water and bringing it to the bank. The body was naked. The only thing he had on was a pair of socks. His identification was in his sock. We think we know who the male is. We believe him to be from a surrounding county,” Sheriff Ray explained.

“A man came to the area to check the lake to see if it (the water level) was up because he was going to go fishing when he noticed something near the boat ramp,” Sheriff Ray said. “At first, he thought it was an animal, but as he got a closer look, he found it to be a human body.”

Because of the poor phone service in that area, the man went to the top of the hill to call 911 which did a transfer to White County and then the White County 911 center transferred it to DeKalb County,” Sheriff Ray concluded.