UPDATE: Skeletal remains identified as missing Dodge County man John Snellgrove

The Eastman Police Department says skeletal remains found on Hawkinsville Highway belong to John Snellgrove, a man who had been missing since May 29, 2021.

UPDATE (1/7/25):

EASTMAN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Eastman Police Department says skeletal remains found on Hawkinsville Highway belong to John Snellgrove, a man who had been missing since May 29, 2021. Snellgrove, who was 55 years old at the time of his disappearance, lived in Chauncey and Eastman, according to a news release from the Eastman Police Department.

The remains were discovered by a local resident on November 26, 2021 inside Eastman city limits. The FBI lab confirmed the identification more than three years after Snellgrove’s disappearance. His next of kin has been notified of the findings.

“It is the hope and prayers of the agencies involved that Mr. Snellgrove’s family may have closure after so many years have passed since his disappearance,” Eastman Police Chief William Cooper said in the release.

ORIGINAL STORY (11/29/21):

EASTMAN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the discovery of skeletal remains.

According to a post on the Dodge County Sheriff’s Facebook page Friday afternoon, Sheriff Brian Robinson received a call from Chief Becky Sheffield in reference to skeletal remains found on the Hawkinsville Hihgway. Coroner Joe Smith and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) were notified to process the scene.

The remains were collected and will be sent the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy. No further information is available at this time.