No foul play is suspected in the death of a man found hanging from a tree in front of the cemetery on Summit Street in Blue Ridge Tuesday, August 2.
Lieutenant Samuel Rosiles of the Blue Ridge Police Department said Officer Pete Tinkman was dispatched to the scene shortly before 8 p.m. The victim was identified as Michael Sterling Voyles, 30, of a Blue Ridge address.
Fannin County Coroner Becky Callihan said Voyles was pronounced dead at the scene by Deputy Coroner Rebecca Hughson. There were no signs of foul play and it was obvious Voyles had committed suicide.
No autopsy was performed, Callihan said.
Voyles’ belongings, a backpack and duffel bag, were found about an hour and a half later near East First and Summit streets by a passerby who turned them in to Tinkman, Rosiles said.
Additionally, Voyles’ employer reported he had quit his job that day and cleared out his residence.