Hiker makes grisly discovery at georgia’s stone mountain park

The badly burned body of a young man was found at Georgia’s Stone Mountain State Park on Saturday morning, and authorities later said he died by suicide. Officials made the tragic

determination after his parents found a note detailing his plans to end his life at the park, AP reported.  Cops identified the dead man only as a white male in his late 20s. The found his

driver’s license at the scene. A hiker discovered the body and anonymously called 911 to report it around 8:18 a.m., officials said. His body was found in a rock crevice off the beaten path

from the park’s popular walking trail, about 100 yards from a tower for its Summit Skyride cable car, which brings visitors the 825 feet up to the top of Stone Mountain outside of Atlanta.

EXPLORE MORE He left his vehicle parked in the area, reports said. Stone Mountain Park is described as the “largest high relief sculpture in the world,” depicting massive carvings of

Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The first sculpture was completed in 1924 and the last in 1972. The park’s portrayal of the famous Confederates has had its

share of controversy over the years, with it the site of protests both for and against it. Earlier this year, a madman with a gun started firing off shots in the park. The man, armed with a

semi-automatic pistol, sparked a manhunt inside the site after hikers reported hearing gunfire. As a park officer located and approached the suspect, the man reportedly asked if he was going

to shoot him. When the cop responded no, the gunman put the weapon to his head and fatally shot himself. No other park visitors or police were injured in the incident.