OAKWOOD — A decomposed body has been found in a shallow section of Lake Lanier, authorities said.

The discovery was reported about 1 p.m. Wednesday near Sunrise Cove Marina off of Flat Creek Road. The call to dispatchers came from a passer-by in the area.

“The body appears to be that of a white male badly decomposed,” Hall County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kiley Sargent wrote in a news release.

“The body was transported to the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office, where an autopsy will be performed.”

Investigators hiked down a wooded embankment about 3 p.m. Wednesday to the scene, a shallow lake cove.

Officers boarded the Marine Rescue 1 and inspected a boat nearby. Members of the dive team also responded about 4 p.m. to the area. The cause of death is not known, and the man’s name has not been released. The investigation is ongoing.