Dalton police identify body found in creek

photo Police and fire fighters work to recover a body found in Tar Creek near South Hamilton Street in Dalton Tuesday afternoon.

Police have identified a man found dead Tuesday in a creek near an industrial area in Dalton, Ga.

James Oliver Brown Jr., 55, was found in Tar Creek after a survey team called police around 2 p.m., said police spokesman Bruce Frazier.

Brown's last known address was 1001 South Thornton Ave. in Dalton, which is the Dalton Greater Works shelter. Brown had recently been staying in various homeless camps around Dalton, Frazier said.

Investigators are waiting for the autopsy from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab to determine the exact cause of death, Frazier said. That process could take a week or longer, he said.

There were no obvious signs of foul play when the body was recovered, he said.

Police were called to the scene near railroad tracks between South Hamilton Street and Abutment Road Tuesday after a report of the body in the water.

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