Antioch Man's Burned Body Found In Rural North Georgia

WHITFIELD COUNTY, GA — Georgia investigators announced badly burned remains found in isolated woods in rural north Georgia are that of an Antioch man missing for more than a month.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the body, found by a 13-year-old boy walking home from school January 10, as 26-year-old Luis Antonio Lopez of Antioch. Lopez's family reported him missing the same day.

"Investigators believe Mr. Lopez may have been murdered in Tennessee and the suspects involved drove him to our area to dispose of the body," Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood said in a release.

The woods, near Dalton, Ga., are about a half hour drive from Chattanooga.

Detectives from Whitfield County, the GBI, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and a handful of other law enforcement agencies are working the case.

Lopez was one of 11 people arrested in a massive bust of an alleged Middle Tennessee drug ring in June 2016. The ring, which detectives believe was headed by Cuban nationals, ran several indoor marijuana grow operations in rural parts of Middle Tennessee, transferring the product to Nashville for sale, according to Metro Police. The proceeds from the "highly lucrative" business were then transferred to associates in Miami.

Chitwood declined to say whether detectives believe Lopez's murder is connected to that bust, except to say that investigators have developed "significant information" about his death.

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Image via Metro Nashville Police