LINCOLN COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) – The Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s (GBI) involvement was requested by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office around 6:50 p.m. Friday, September 15th, regarding the death of a Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Investigator.
That investigator is identified as 46-year-old Brian Manecke.
According to the GBI, earlier in the afternoon, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) contacted Lincoln County about a deputy they were not able to get in contact with.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office was asked by RCSO to help in their attempt to locate the missing investigator by trying to confirm Manecke’s last known location.
Using GPS location technology, RCSO was able to trace Investigator Manecke’s last known location to a rural area in Northern Lincoln County.
The search for Manecke by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office began between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. that day.
Around 6 p.m., according to the GBI, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office personnel found Investigator Manecke’s body in a personal vehicle, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.
He was located on Wisteria Drive, off Elberton Highway, that dead ends along the shores of Clarks Hill Lake.
The GBI says that it is their understanding that Manecke had been under investigation by Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Division at the time of his death.
RCSO, according to the GBI, is still in charge of that internal investigation.
The GBI is handling the death investigation only, due to the request by Lincoln County Sheriff’s office.
According to authorities, all evidence leads investigators to believe that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.
Because Investigator Manecke was still employed by RCSO, the GBI tells WJBF that Manecke’s body will be sent for autopsy.
RCSO has yet to respond to a request from WJBF inquiring about the nature of the Internal Affairs investigation into Manecke and whether that investigation will continue in tandem with the GBI’s investigation into his death.
This is a developing story.
