Police in Winchester, Tenn., are working to identify skeletal remains found Friday near Tims Ford Lake after a worker accidentally hit the body with a piece of heavy equipment.
Winchester Police Chief Dennis Young said authorities suspect they know whose remains were found at the dead end on North Vine Street but are awaiting confirmation from a forensics investigation team before making any announcements.
Young said a worker mowing near the shoreline struck the remains with the equipment.
"It was on TVA property on the shores of Tims Ford Lake," he said.
Authorities believe the body is of a man who lived nearby and went missing earlier in the year. Officials have been in touch with that man's family, he said.
"We do not suspect foul play," Young said. "It'll probably be a while before we can positively identify him. We won't know for sure until we get DNA on him."
The chief said items found with the body could help with the identification, but confirmation might not happen until early next week.
Young said the team from the University of Tennessee Forensics Center in Knoxville was called in to help with recovery and identification of the body.
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