Local authorities are still searching for clues after a decomposed body was found outside a county residence Friday.

The Surry County Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation are investigating what they called a suspicious death at 124 Lindsay Creed Lane off Red Brush Road.

Sheriff Graham Atkinson said the body, which appears to be that of a man, was found outside the residence Thursday by deputies responding to a request from a neighbor for a welfare check around 3 p.m.

“The neighbor called us and reported that something just wasn’t right,” Atkinson said. “When the deputy arrived he found the front door open. As he started to the front door, he saw the body in the grass near the front porch.”

Atkinson reported neighbors said the body, which was hidden in tall grass, may have been there since Monday. The man was not sociable with his neighbors and often left his front door open, leading to little initial concern by neighbors.

Deputies did a security sweep of the residence, then called for emergency medical services to handle the body and three people from the State Bureau of Investigation Crime Scene unit to process the home. After obtaining a search warrant, investigators were on the scene until about midnight Thursday and returned to the location Friday morning where they remained until about mid-afternoon.

Once the Crime Scene unit completed their investigation, the sheriff’s department planned to enter the home to do a search of their own.

Atkinson said the home belongs to Harry Watts Jr., according to county tax maps, but due to the condition of the body they were unable to confirm his identity.

“This is being treated as a suspicious death,” Atkinson said. “We do not believe it was natural causes and we have found a weapon we believe was responsible.”

The body was sent to Chapel Hill for autopsy, which was to be conducted Friday afternoon.

“We hope to match dental records and be able to identify the body at that time,” Atkinson said.

The sheriff said he did not want to disclose the manner of death at this time pending further investigation.