GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- There are more questions than answers about the disappearance of a 25-year-old pharmacy worker.
Authorities are still trying to determine if the body pulled out of Lake Carlton in missing Alvin Ahmed.
THE DISAPPEARANCE
Ahmed, who works at the Publix at Loganville Town Center, was last seen Monday as he was leaving the store. Surveillance video shows him purchasing items at the register with a white medical coat on.
He takes his items and walks into the view of another camera and exits the store.
Family members said his car was found in the parking lot unlocked, with the glove compartment open and his white coat inside of the vehicle.
THE LAKE
The location where the body was found in the lake is only about three miles away from the store. A suspicious death investigation is now underway.
Authorities started the autopsy, but the initial tests still didn't confirm the identity. Investigators said the body was severely decomposed.
A person passing by spotted something floating in the water and called police.
"It was completely based off her phone call that we were able to come out and discover this at all. So, it does speak to the importance of when you see something suspicious, call the police," Sgt. Jake Smith with the Gwinnett County Police Department said.
THE SCIENCE
Ahmed was last seen on July 16. The body was found July 18.
11Alive spoke with a professor who works at the Center for Applied Forensics at Jacksonville State University who said two days is not enough time for a body to decompose to the point where it’s unrecognizable.
"Nothing like we see grossly, like skin slippage and bloating. That wouldn't have taken place at that point," explained Professor Joseph Morgan.
“If he’s absent trauma – that’s the big question – teeth will be intact, fingerprints will be intact,” Morgan said.
However, that could change under certain conditions.
Morgan said if you throw in animals, possible trauma, or injury to the face, it could be harder to identify the person.
