GBI Investigating Death After Woman Found in Lake Chatuge

HIAWASSEE, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the death of a North Carolina woman whose body was found in Lake Chatuge over the weekend.

According to the GBI, 59-year-old Shelley Lynn Dietrich, of Murphy, North Carolina, was found deceased in the water near the end of a dock at Marina Station on Lake Chatuge.

Authorities said Towns County 911 received a call at approximately 10:50 a.m. Saturday, May 9, from a boater reporting a woman in the water. Deputies with the Towns County Sheriff’s Office and EMS personnel responded to the scene, where the woman was later identified as Dietrich.

The Towns County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the GBI in the investigation. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is also assisting.

Dietrich’s body will be taken to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the GBI Field Office in Cleveland at 706-348-4866. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online through the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, or by using the See Something, Send Something mobile app.