Surgical implants used to identify skeletal remains

Photo byNowHabersham.com

The body of a woman found in a wooded area off Aviation Boulevard in Gainesville has been identified. She was a 62-year-old member of the city’s homeless community, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office says.

Vickie Lynn Barber was found dead on Aug. 20. According to the sheriff’s office, an employee of Mar-Jac Poultry spotted a backpack down a steep embankment while walking on company property. Further investigation led to the discovery of Barber’s skeletal remains.

An autopsy report, released on Oct. 10 by the Dekalb County Medical Examiner’s Office, listed Barber’s cause and manner of death as undetermined. The report noted that there were no obvious signs of trauma. The medical examiner could not determine how long she had been dead before her remains were found, the sheriff’s office says.

Barber’s identity was confirmed through serial numbers on medical hardware from a previous surgery.