The decomposing body of an unidentified male discovered in a private pond off County Road 3310 on Saturday has been positively identified as that of Fred McCray, 62.

Brundidge Police Chief Moses Davenport said Pike County Coroner Jerry Williams notified him shortly after noon on Tuesday that the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences had identified the body as that of McCray.

“According to the forensic report, Mr. McCray died of a massive stroke,” Davenport said. “The Brundidge Police Department has been treating the case as a possible homicide until the forensic investigation was complete.  But there was no evidence of foul play. Mr. McCray’s death was not a homicide in any sense of the word.”

Davenport said, according to the forensic report, McCray had been dead for seven to 10 days before a man, who was fishing the pond in rural Pike County with his son, discovered the body.

“In talking with Mr. McCray’s wife, I was told that it was not unusual for him to be gone for several days at a time,” Davenport said. “He often went fishing in the pond where his body was found and also in Eufaula. He sometimes checked himself into rehab, I was told.

“When the unidentified body was found in the pond, the family began to check the places where Mr. McCray might have gone but he was not at any of those places. So, we suspected that the body might be his.”

Davenport said several personal items were found in McCray’s pants’ pockets including a set of keys that could be to the truck that was found in a wooded area near the pond where McCray’s body was found, but his wallet was at home.

“We never found any fishing gear at the pond so we might go back and check the area again, if the family would want that done,” Davenport said.  “But, the report from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences has positively identified the body and determined Mr. McCray’s death was from natural causes. With that report, we can now officially close the case.”