Story
last updated at 11:29 PM on Aug. 4, 2004
Missing woman dead?
Body found
By Timothy Cox
Morris News Service
The body of a woman found Wednesday afternoon in rural Wilkes County may be
that of an Athens woman missing since Saturday.
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A
Department of Natural Resources ranger found an abandoned truck parked under
the Little River Bridge at the Wilkes County-McDuffie County line. He ran a
check of the license plate on the blue Ford F-150, which had a kayak in the
back. The check confirmed that the vehicle belonged to Kathryn Anne Grant, a
29-year-old University of Georgia employee who has not been seen or heard from
since Saturday, Wilkes County Sheriff Gary Rogers said.
Deputies
with the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office found the body of a woman near the
truck. The cause of death was not apparent, Rogers said. An autopsy will be
performed and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in Wednesday night
to process the scene, off Georgia Highway 78 about 10 miles southeast of
Washington - approximately 40 miles from Athens - and spearhead the
investigation.
Grant
was reported missing to Athens authorities on Tuesday by her father when she
did not show up for work Sunday or Monday at UGA's Veterinary Teaching
Hospital. She also failed to show up to interview for a job she had been very
excited about, Randy Grant said.
Kathryn
Anne Grant is described as an avid kayaker who frequently went down the Broad
River between Elbert and Madison counties, and the state Department of Natural
Resources - which monitors the river - had been alerted to her disappearance.
Athens-Clarke
police confirmed Wednesday night that their investigation had taken them to
Wilkes County, where Athens-Clarke investigators were working with the GBI and
the Wilkes County Sheriff's Department.
"Our
investigators are following up possible leads in Wilkes County regarding her
disappearance," Athens-Clarke police Sgt. Rick Hammond said Wednesday.
*
Staff writer Lee Shearer contributed to this report.