Medical examiners have released the identity of a woman found deceased eight weeks ago
in a wooded area off Aviation Boulevard in Gainesville, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) announced Thursday.
The decomposed body of Vickie Lynn Barber, 62, was discovered Aug. 20 when an employee of Mar-Jac Poultry was taking a walk around company property and saw a backpack down a steep embankment. Further investigation led to the discovery of skeletal remains.
Barber’s body was taken to the Dekalb County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy to confirm her identity and determine her cause of death.
The report, issued Oct. 10, listed Barber’s cause and manner of death as undetermined, noting there were no obvious signs of trauma to the body. The examination was unable to determine how long she had been dead before her body was discovered.
Ultimately, the medical examiner had to confirm the identity through serial numbers on medical hardware that had been used during surgery on Barber, who was a known member of Gainesville’s homeless community.