HALL COUNTY, Ga. -- Authorities in Hall County confirmed Monday afternoon that a body found in Lake Lanier on Sunday was that of Kelly Nash, a 25-year-old Buford man missing for more than a month.
Nash had last been seen at his Buford home in the early morning hours of Monday, Jan. 5. His girlfriend said she woke up at about 4:00 a.m. and he was coughing and sneezing, and he said that he wasn't feeling well. When she woke up again at about 7:30, Nash was gone. He left behind his wallet, phone, ID and truck.
Nash's family gathered in the home Monday evening, where Nash was last seen.
Investigators said Monday night they may be able to figure out in a few days exactly what led to Nash's disappearance and death.
Investigators say they are sure it was Kelly Nash's body that a fisherman found in Lake Lanier Sunday evening, from the clothes on the body -- the same pajama bottoms and dark shirt that Kelly Nash was wearing at the convenience store near his home a few hours before he disappeared from home, and from the tattoos on the body that matched Nash's tattoos.
They say they do not believe there was any foul play, but they're not saying, yet, what the cause of death was.
Nash's body was found in the lake about two and a half miles from his home where he disappeared.
"We do feel that he went into the water in close proximity to where he was found," said Hall County Sheriff's Deputy Nicole Bailes.
Bailes says investigators may be able to tell the family soon what happened when Nash vanished in his pajamas in the early morning of January 5, leaving his personal belongings behind.
"We can't say what his frame of mind was, why he left," she said. "We have some very good leads as to what we believe occurred, but we will firm that up in the next two to three days."
Nash's father, Alan Nash, sent 11Alive's Jon Shirek a message thanking all of the volunteers who stood with the family, helping to look for Kelly, never giving up hope that they would find him safe and sound:
"We are heartbroken and lost… We truly thought we were going to have a positive ending to this ordeal. We are devastated."
Bailes says investigators will be working hard over the next few days, to try to come up with answers for the family.
