Bodies of two men — both shot in the head — pulled from popular lake, Georgia cops say
The bodies of two men who had been shot in the head were pulled from a popular Georgia lake this week, authorities said.
Boaters were on West Point Lake when they saw the bodies floating in the water, said Sgt. Stewart Smith, a spokesperson for the Troup County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the bodies may have been dumped in the lake, a waterfront destination dotted with fishing piers along the Alabama border and roughly 50 miles north of Columbus, Georgia.
The sheriff’s office is conducting a homicide investigation after the first man’s body was discovered near Lower Glass Bridge Road at about 5:20 p.m. Monday, according to a Facebook post. He was identified as 46-year-old Marcus Lee Caswell.
The next day, deputies responded to the same area just after 11:15 a.m. and found another body in the water, officials said. The second deceased man was identified as 31-year-old Travis Michael Lodato.
Deputies said Lodato and Caswell were friends who lived in Newnan. The men were shot in the head and likely “put in West Point Lake in an attempt to hide or dispose of the bodies,” according to Smith.
Troup County officials have said there’s no ongoing threat to the public. On Wednesday afternoon, Smith told McClatchy News in a phone interview the sheriff’s office isn’t expecting to find other bodies in the area.
“Investigators are working to identify any suspects and the location where the crime took place,” his department wrote Tuesday in a Facebook post.
The two bodies reportedly were set to be sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for autopsies. Deputies urge anyone with information about the case to call 706-883-1616 for investigators or 706-812-1000 for Crime Stoppers.
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Bodies of two men — both shot in the head — pulled from popular lake, Georgia cops say."
