Cherokee County, N.C., authorities are seeking information in what is being described as a "suspicious death" in the Marble community about halfway between the towns of Murphy and Andrews.
The investigation began around 2 a.m. Jan. 9 when officers were dispatched to a home on an "unknown medical problem," Sheriff Derrick Palmer said in a statement released Friday morning.
Palmer said the caller told dispatchers "to send an ambulance fast" and then hung up.
Deputies and ambulance personnel found 28-year-old Louis Raines, a Bryson City, N.C., resident, suffering from head trauma, Palmer said.
Raines was flown to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga for treatment but later died, Palmer said.
"Since we are in the early stages of the investigation we are not going to speculate as to what may or may not have happened," Palmer said. "We are actively pursuing all leads and appreciate any information anyone may have and ask them to contact the sheriff's office at 828-837-2589."
