The badly decomposed body found in Lake Lanier on Sunday has been identified as that of a missing Winder woman, Estelle Kouassi.
Hall County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Deputy Nicole Bailes said Friday dental records were used to make a positive identification.
"Investigators...were able to correlate a missing person report that was filed with our office on March 3, 2016, regarding missing 18-year-old Estelle Kouassi from Winder," Bales said. "The description of Kouassi matched that of the body recovered. With having a name, investigators were then able to obtain medical and dental records for Kouassi. Through dental records, the medical examiner was able to positively identify the body..."
Bailes added that Kouassi had not lived at home in several months. "She was living with a friend," Bailes explained.
Authorities had said earlier there was no trauma found on the body but the medical examiner says the cause of death is still undetermined.
When asked if the sequence of events leading to Kouassi's death had been unraveled, Bailes responded, "We're not ready to release that information at this point, but we do not believe foul play was involved."
