Skeletal remains found in Hardeeville ID'd as Savannah man

Skeletal remains found south of Hardeeville eight months ago have been identified as the body of a Savannah man who had been declared missing for two years, according to authorities.

The body of 22-year-old Michael Jamel Bryant was found with a single gunshot wound to the head, said Chief Deputy Roy Hughes of the Jasper County Sheriff's Office.

Sources have told investigators Bryant might have been abducted at gunpoint in Savannah, Hughes said. Bryant had a criminal history involving narcotics, he said.

Deer hunters found the remains last December in Limehouse, a community about 5 miles south of Hardeeville. The body was found beneath a tree stand used by hunters in a wooded area near Benny's Auction House on U.S. 17, The Island Packet reported Dec. 6.

Hughes said Friday that Bryant's body probably had been in the woods for "several months" before being discovered. It is unclear if Bryant died in Hardeeville, he said.

Officials discovered that Bryant's skull had suture marks from surgery performed on the right side of his head. Georgia authorities suggested a possible connection between the skeletal remains and Bryant's missing person's case, which they had been handling.

Bryant's identity was confirmed through DNA samples.

His family reported him missing in July 2006, Hughes said.

The case, being investigated jointly by the Jasper County and Chatham County Sheriffs' Offices, remains open.

"We'll keep working with the Savannah authorities and hopefully something will turn up," Hughes said.