The Hall County Sheriff's Office has identified the man whose badly decomposed body was found April 4 in a creek behind New Holland Mill as 31-year-old Kyle Maurice Vandyke of Gainesville.

Vandyke had been living in a residential rehabilitation center for substance abuse at 29 Branch St., which is near the New Holland community.

According to witnesses, he walked away from the center a few days before Christmas and never returned, said Col. Jeff Strickland, sheriff's office spokesman.

A landscaping crew discovered the body in a creek between the mill and the railroad. He was dressed in tan pants, a gray sweatshirt with a hood and white tennis shoes.

"Investigators are estimating he was dead for three to five weeks," Strickland has said.

The DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office identified the body based on dental records.

An autopsy was performed, but results were limited because of decomposition, Strickland said.

"There were no signs of trauma to the body or any evidence of gunshot or stab wounds," he said.

The exact cause of death has not been determined, but the case is still under investigation.