Hunters find human remains in NC national forest, feds say. FBI is now investigating

Some hunters stumbled onto human remains in Pisgah National Forest, about 140 miles northwest of Charlotte, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The discovery was made Saturday, Oct. 28, off Stackhouse Road, north of the Marshall community, officials said.

FBI agents and deputies with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office “hiked to the remote area and secured the scene” on Sunday, officials said.

The identity of the person and cause of death remain to be determined. The investigation is being handled by the FBI because the body was found on federally owned land, officials said.

“The FBI’s Evidence Response Team meticulously processed the area to preserve the remains and uncover all available evidence,” officials said. “The remains will be sent to the FBI lab at Quantico, Virginia.”

Stackhouse Road links US 70 to the Stackhouse Takeout boat ramp and its parking area along the French Broad River.

Pisgah National Forest covers more than 500,000 acres in the western North Carolina mountains and is ”primarily a hardwood forest with whitewater rivers, waterfalls and hundreds of miles of trails,” the U.S Forest Service says.

This story was originally published October 30, 2023 at 12:18 PM with the headline "Hunters find human remains in NC national forest, feds say. FBI is now investigating."