Body found in east Athens field

By Joe Johnson

A man whose body was found in east Athens Sunday morning was determined to have died from medical reasons.

Larry Darnell Browner had prior medical conditions that contributed to his death, according to Clarke County Coroner Sonny Wilson.

Authorities were notified at 10:15 a.m. that there was a person down and not breathing in a field off of Willow Street, near the North Oconee River and the Bigger Vision homeless shelter.

A police report notes that the person had a state issued photo ID card for Browner, and that family members and associates who had gathered at the scene confirmed the deceased person was Browner.

The report listed as Browner’s address the Advantage Behavioral Health Systems Homeless Day Service Center on North Avenue. A search of public records found that the man once had an address on Reese Street in Athens.

The police report indicates that there were no signs of foul play to the body.

Temperatures in Athens Saturday night and early Sunday morning were below freezing, but Wilson said he ruled out the possibility that weather contributed to the man’s death because “he had not been down long.”