DALTON, Ga. — A couple from Dalton hiking in the woods near the Walker County line discovered a human skull near a walking trail on Sunday, leading to the discovery of skeletal remains that had been there for at least two months, officials said.

Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Rick Swiney said deputies who responded to the call Sunday around 3 p.m. found the skeletal remains of a male. The discovery occurred in the wilderness area near Gordon Springs Road and LaFayette Highway in the western part of the county.

The collected bones were sent Monday morning to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab for further analysis.

Swiney said there was no identification found with the remains, no immediate indication of cause of death, and the remains had been there “at least a couple of months.”

“It had not been buried and we don’t know yet why it was there,” Swiney said. “A small amount of clothing was recovered. We have been in contact with surrounding agencies today to try to find any missing persons reports on who this could be.”

Swiney said he hopes the state crime lab is able to better determine the age of the remains in order to narrow down any reported missing persons.

This is the second deceased body found in the woods in Whitfield County in January. A 13-year-old boy found a burned body in the woods in the southern end of the county near the intersection of Interstate 75 and Carbondale Road. Swiney said the investigation into that discovery is continuing and investigators made a trip out of state last week following leads and conducting interviews. He said no cause of death has been released from that autopsy at the state crime lab. He earlier said investigators were concentrating on a missing persons report from outside of the state.