DAWSONVILLE — The discovery of human remains Sunday in southern Dawson County launched a full-scale search of the wooded area by several law enforcement agencies, including the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

Dawson County Sheriff’s Capt. Tony Wooten said hunters found a human skull and articles of clothing near Hanging Dog Road, off Dawson Forest Road and not far from the Forsyth line.

Investigators from the Dawson and Forsyth sheriff’s offices continued to search the area on Monday for additional remains.

It was not immediately clear how many bones were found or how long they had been there.

Authorities did say, however, that the bones could be those of a 42-year-old Forsyth man who disappeared in January. The man’s name has not been publicly released, but authorities have been in contact with his family.

“His truck was located in that general area in February,” Wooten said. “There was an extensive search of these woods in February, but we weren’t able to come up with anything.”

After the two-day search, which included both air and ground teams that combed six square miles, the man’s missing person status was “changed to open inactive due to all leads” being exhausted, according to the open records report obtained by the Forsyth County News.

The bones found Sunday were collected and sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab.

“We’ll know more when their evaluation is complete, but that will be a while,” Wooten said.

Doug Rainwater, a spokesman for the Forsyth sheriff’s office, declined to talk about the investigation, referring comment to the Dawson sheriff’s office. The Dawson agency is heading up the investigation until authorities can determine an identity.

According to Wooten, there is no evidence at this point in the investigation that indicates foul play.

“It’s still too early in the investigation to be able to comment on that,” he said.

FCN Staff writer Kayla Robins contributed to this story.