Body found in lake at Clay County; Sheriff's Office seeks man in hopes of gathering information

Part 1

On Friday February 9, 2018, Clay County Investigators responded to Jack Rabbit Road in reference to a body that was discovered in the lake. The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), Clay County Fire and Rescue, and Towns County Dive Team all responded to assist.
 
Sheriff Davis said the man has been positively identified as Michael Todd Popa. Popa has been missing since December 20, 2017.
 
This is still an open investigation and Sheriff Davis requests any one that may have further information in reference to this matter to please come forward and speak to investigators.

Part 2

Sheriff Davis said investigators are interested in speaking to the person depicted in this sketch. This person may have been the last person to be with Michael Popa who had been missing since December 20, 2017.
 
This person and Popa were together sometime between December 18th and 20th when the vehicle they were driving ran out of gas on Hwy 175 in Clay County between the hours of 9 and 11 PM.
 
Investigators say they were coming from the direction of Georgia on Hwy 175 when this occurred, and they believe a third person brought them fuel.
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This man is a white male, in his mid 30’s, 5’9” -  5’11” tall, has short (buzz cut style) brown hair, and a medium build.
 
Sheriff Davis said he is hoping someone will recognize this man and provide information on who he may be, because he man may have information as to what happened to Michael Popa. If someone knows who he might be or if maybe you were the one that brought gas to them, please call the Sheriff’s Office at (828) 389-6354, or message us on Facebook. You can also send anonymous information to our crime tip email, crimetips@claync.org.
 
Investigators want to be clear on one thing, they do not believe this man was any part of any wrong doing, but they do believe he may have further information that is helpful to the investigation.