Body of hiker identified

A body found earlier this year on Springer Mountain in Fannin County has been identified as that of Stephen Lucas Ryan, 40, of Pennsylvania.

Fannin County Coroner Becky Callihan said the identification was made by two specialists in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Missing Persons unit.

Rebecca Hughson, Fannin County chief deputy coroner, said Friday a cause of death has not been determined.

Hughson, who headed up the local coroner’s investigation, said the 40-year-old Ryan had joined the U.S. Navy immediately after high school. He was awarded a full scholarship to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis where he earned a degree in physics. Ryan transfered to the U.S. Marine Corps and became an Osprey aircraft pilot.

Ryan’s remains were discovered Jan. 21, 2022, off the Benton MacKaye Trail where it is part of the Appalachian Trail. A hiker who had become lost made the discovery.

The remote location, while in Fannin County, was more easily accessed from Lumpkin County.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called to investigate.

Callihan said at the time there were no signs of foul play at the scene, but because decomposition had been affected by cold temperatures, it was hard to tell how long the body might have been where it was found.

(By Glenn Harbison, News-Observer Publisher)