UPDATE: ID given on body found at Hilsman Park

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - A body was found at Hilsman Park Friday morning, according to Michael Fowler, Dougherty County coroner.

Fowler, along with the Albany Police Department (APD) and EMS, were all on the scene at 3rd Avenue and West Van Buren Street.

Shortly before 2 p.m., the coroner identified the victim as Dale Jackson, 50. Fowler said that next of kin were notified.

The scene was cleared shortly after noon on Friday, and APD officials said it is being investigated as a suspicious death.

The body was found next to the playground set at the park.

Jackson’s body has been sent for an autopsy, according to Fowler. The coroner said the body did not have visible markings that would visibly help rule a cause of death.

Fowler said Tuesday that the preliminary autopsy results found no trauma to the body.

The next steps, Fowler said, is toxicology reports, which would take 60-90 days to return.

WALB spoke with several neighbors in the area. They said they are worried that the body was found just feet away from their homes.

UPDATE: We just learned from Coroner Michael Fowler the man's name is Dale Jackson. He was 50 years old. Body found at Hilsman Park in Albany. The scene just cleared, but a according to the Dougherty County Coroner aged, black man was found at the corner of 3rd Avenue and North Van Buren Street. It’s being investigated at a suspicious death right now.
Posted by Grason Passmore WKYT on Friday, July 19, 2019

“It’s crazy. I’ve never seen nothing like this before,” said one neighbor, Harber Mathis.

Mathis has been living in the North Van Buren Street area for two years now. Living just three houses down from the park where 50-year-old Dale Jackson’s body was found earlier this morning.

“It so happened somebody was walking this morning. They started to notice something in the field. And somebody went over and noticed he was in the field,” said County Coroner, Michael Fowler.

The Albany Police Department, Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler, and Emergency Medical Services, got to the scene around 11. Jackson’s body was found just feet away from the playground equipment at the corner of 3rd Avenue and North Van Buren Street.

“We’ve just got to determine what happened prior to him getting here. Was he brought out here? Did he walk out here? We’ve got to determine that,” said Fowler.

As of right now, Jackson’s death is being ruled as suspicious. According to APD, the investigation is ongoing.

“We’ve called the medical examiner’s office and we’re going to get an autopsy done on him because he should not be out here deceased,” Fowler said.

Mathis and his neighbors said they won’t stop worrying until they know what happened to Jackson and why his body was in the park.

“If foul play was suspected, I really want to know what happened,” Mathis said.

This is a developing story, and we will update as more information becomes available.

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