A couple of young deer hunters made a gruesome find over the weekend after a body was found in a wooded rural farm area. The discovery has local and state investigators trying to identify the remains and determine whether the find is linked to the case of a missing woman from 2022.
The discovery was made around 12:30 p.m., off of Man Hill Road in the Dowelltown/Snow Hill area of the county. Two young hunters reported seeing the locked box months ago, but did not investigate it. On Saturday, the youths decided to open the chest and made a horrifying find.
According to the property owner, the boys came to him reporting the box with a putrid smell inside. He went to investigate, and said he opened the box but could not at first tell what was inside. He said that he then noticed hair and what he believed was a skull. He immediately notified law enforcement.
DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray later released a statement, saying, “On January 11, at 1:01 P.M., a call came into Dispatch about a body that had been found off of Man Hill Road in Dowelltown. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and 13th District Attorney General ‘s Office were summoned to the scene.”
“The body has been sent to Nashville for identification by the Medical Examiner. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department are investigating. No more details are available at this time,” said Sheriff Ray.
While authorities are working to identify the remains and the cause of death, there has been speculation that the body might be a local woman reported missing over two years ago.
Brittany Ann Miller, 31, was reported missing on the Fourth of July holiday of 2022. Law enforcement performed several grid searches around the woman’s property on Hurricane Ridge Road in Smithville and adjacent properties, but no trace was ever found.
Miller was reported as a white female, 5' 4" and 150 pounds, with dark brown shoulder-length hair, blue eyes, and wearing black frame glasses. The woman reportedly had a tattoo of "Adam" across her forearm and "Tyler" on right ankle. She was last seen wearing a black tee shirt possibly saying "DCHS Tigers", black shorts knee length, black tennis shoes with black "no show" socks. She was last seen on around 4 p.m. at her home.
Searches were conducted on foot and using ATVs, with the assistance of the DeKalb Rescue Squad, and tracking dogs from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department and Murfreesboro Police Department. A drone from StormPoint Emergency Response was also used to survey the area, as well as Tennessee Highway Patrol helicopter. Searches were also conducted in the water by the Rescue Squad at boat ramps and other areas of the lake. Sonar was used to search the waters.
Her case, and the case of the remains found over the weekend, remain under investigation.