Missing Trucker Found Dead, Foul Play No Longer Suspected

BUTTS COUNTY, Ga. - Authorities in Butts County said they have found a missing trucker from Indiana.

Lisle Eugene Harris, 57, started his regular route Tuesday morning and was in the Atlanta area headed south on Interstate 75, according to the Butts County Sheriff's Office. Deputies received a phone call shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday because the trucking company that Harris works for decided someone needed to go check on his welfare. Harris had been sitting idle in his truck since around 9 a.m. Tuesday and the company was concerned. 

Authorities said when they arrived they had to break into Harris' truck, but he was nowhere to be found. The truck was still running with the keys inside and Harris' cell phone was left behind.

Harris was later found at a remote part of the truck stop. Investigators initially thought he may have been a victim of foul play, but now believe he likely died of natural causes.

“It’s pretty evident that something has happened,” Major Darrell Powers with the Butts County Sheriff's Office told FOX 5 News. “It’s very out-of-character for him according to the family. He normally stays in contact.”

The last person who heard from Harris was his 17-year-old daughter Tuesday morning. She last contacted her dad to let him know she made it to school okay. He responded and that was the last she heard from him.