COVINGTON, GA -- Officials in Newton County recovered a body from the Yellow River on Sunday morning.
Deputies are trying to determine how the body ended up in the river near Rocky Plains Road.
A fisherman first saw the body in the river at about 4:45 p.m. Saturday. A photograph the fisherman sent to 11Alive News shows the body wedged among brush near the shoreline about a quarter-mile from the Rocky Plains Road bridge.
Deputies from the Newton County Sheriff's Office attempted to remove the remains Saturday night, but the location of the body, along with the descending darkness and the rapid movement of the river in that location made it difficult to remove.
PHOTOS | Body found in Yellow River
Sunday morning, sheriff's deputies along with crews from the Covington Fire Department, Newton County Fire Department and state Department of Natural Resources were able to assist in the removal of the human remains.
An early report that the body may have been headless was later shown not to be true. Authorities said the body's head was submerged below the surface of the water as it was wedged in the brush.
Officials have yet to determine how long the body has been in the river, or even the sex of the victim.
After removing the remains from the river, they were transported by the Newton County Coroner to the county morgue. An autopsy will be performed by the state crime lab in DeKalb County.
