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Missing man's body found in wall of motel

The man had been missing since December.

GRIFFIN, Ga. -- A would-be thief made a grisly discovery inside of a motel wall in Spalding County.

According to the Spalding County Sheriff's Office, a man committing a theft at the Express Inn and Suites on North Expressway found a body in the interior wall of the motel. He left the scene and called 911 several hour later.

A responding Griffin Police officer noted a "foul odor" coming from one of the rooms and forced his way inside where he found the body between teh walls in the plumbing access area.

The officer, aware of a missing man report out of Spalding County, contacted authorities the Spalding County Sheriff's Office as well as Griffin Fire.

The body was extricated from the scene and identified as Timothy Johnson.

Johnson had last been seen on December 6 and was reported missing on December 11. His truck was found in a parking lot next to the motel on December 7 by Griffin police.

No foul play is suspected in Johnson's death, but an autopsy will determine how exactly he died, according to the Spalding County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Darrell Dix told 11Alive's Faith Abubey that it appears that Johnson may have been in the process of stealing copper when he died.

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