Marion County authorities, TBI probe death of woman whose burned body was found Friday in New Hope, Tennessee

Tennessee and Marion County authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of an unidentified woman whose burned body was found Friday morning off State Route 156 in New Hope, Tennessee.

The Twelfth Judicial District attorney general's office requested assistance from state investigators, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Leslie Earhart said in an email.

"The body has been transported to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Nashville for autopsy," Earhart said.

photo 12th Judicial District Attorney General Mike Taylor

Marion County Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett said an engineer on a passing train alerted authorities after spotting the body Friday just north of the railroad crossing known as Moore's Crossing near Colonial Chemical and the intersection with Port Road.

The body was found "on a little gravel road that runs right next to the tracks," the sheriff said.

"We spent most of the day there going over the scene," Burnett said of the beginning of the investigation Friday. He said state and local investigators followed up leads over the weekend.

The body is believed to be that of a "younger" woman and foul play is suspected, District Attorney General Mike Taylor said Monday.

"The body had been burned," Taylor said. "I don't have a cause of death yet."

Taylor said he hadn't been advised of any wounds or injuries found on the body yet because it had been so badly burned.

"I don't think the body had been there very long," he said.

"She was found Friday morning and the trains travel that track regularly," Taylor said. "I think if she'd been there very long, somebody [would] have seen her.

"It might have been a day or two, but not much more than that," he said.

Anyone with information related to the case is asked to call the Marion County Sheriff's Office at 423-942-2525 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.

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