The mystery of the whereabouts of a missing man, who was allegedly running from authorities in December 2021, may have been solved after a skull was discovered on a steep embankment near Center Hill Lake. Though the remains have not been positively identified, they are believed to be that of 29-year-old Matthew Braswell, who had not been seen or heard from since he fled into the woods after a crash on Ponder Road.

According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, Braswell was a passenger of a 2006 Chevy Tahoe, driven by 26-year-old Danny Phillips of McMinnville, when they were spotted by a resident going through the mail of his mailbox on Ponder Road.

As the resident came out of his home to confront the men, the truck sped away but then went out of control and struck several trees at the edge of the roadway. The two men then bailed out of the truck and fled into the woods. Phillips was quickly captured, but Braswell got away and hasn’t been seen since. Authorities say that it appeared that both men sustained injuries in the crash though it is not known how severe.

Local and state authorities including a K-9 unit conducted a ground search for Braswell that day but to no avail. The evening that the man fled the scene of the crash the temperatures dropped significantly with rain in the area.

A THP helicopter flight crew and multiple ground searches were done Monday December 20, 2021, but there was no sign of Braswell other than his white and gray jacket, which was found in the woods about a half mile from the crash site near Burton-Ponder cemetery.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department coordinated another ground and aerial search on February 5, but again no traces of the man could be found. “The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department along with other agencies searched on foot for Braswell along with 12 K-9 cadaver/tracking dogs and drones, but we still didn’t find anything,” Sheriff Ray said at the time.

Since the time of the incident, Braswell’s family has not heard from him, and he was entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) as a missing person.

On Thursday afternoon, a man and his dog, walking the banks of Center Hill Lake, discovered a human skull about 50 yards from the shoreline, lodged in a fallen tree on a steep embankment.

The Smithville-DeKalb Rescue Squad and TWRA officers picked up sheriff’s officials, the medical examiner, and an investigator with the District Attorney’s office in a boat, and transported them to the remote location. Only the skull was found, with no lower jaw. Despite a search of the area atop the steep ground, no other bones or remains were located. Authorities say that the skull appears to be a recent death rather than an archeological find.

“We plan on conducting another search with the Middle Tennessee State Anthropology Department to try to locate any other remains,” Sheriff Ray said. “We have sent the skull off for DNA testing to positively identify the remains.”

Sheriff Ray said that as the crow flies, the location of the crash site to where the skull was found was approximately 1.6 miles away, though with the rugged terrain actual distance is actually much further. Though the remains have not been identified, Ray said that Braswell is the only missing person reported in that area.

Sheriff Ray said that the search for Braswell was hampered by the fact that the man had warrants for his arrest and that the man was actively avoiding detection after the crash. That, coupled with the possibilities of the man being injured made it hard for Braswell to be located. Speculation is that Braswell was attempting to reach a neighborhood without being found by law enforcement, but then became lost on the steep ridges in the area.

Braswell was last seen wearing blue jean shorts and possibly a white tank top shirt. He stands six feet tall and weighs 150 pounds. His hair and eyes are brown in color and he has facial tattoos with a money sign “$” over his right eye and the name “Kim” over his left eye. Braswell has a mustache/goatee. Braswell was reported not to have a primary address.

Braswell’s family has been notified about the find, though authorities are still waiting on confirmation of the identity.