Missing UGA student found dead in wreckage in Gwinnett Co.

LAWRENCEVILLE - Authorities said a University of Georgia student who had been reported missing was found dead inside a wrecked vehicle between Athens and Atlanta.

Police say 22-year-old Quinton Ayers was reported missing on Friday. His body was found Monday inside the pickup truck along Georgia 316 near Harbins Road.

Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Jake Smith said that Ayers' vehicle was found on its side, about 40 feet from the road. Smith said it appeared that the vehicle hit a tree.

The vehicle was spotted and reported by a passing semitrailer driver who could see the undercarriage from his elevated position.

Smith said that ground searches and even a helicopter search in the area had been unsuccessful because the truck was black and the undercarriage of the vehicle was black, making it difficult to spot in the shadow of the trees.

Authorities said they are conducting toxicology tests on Ayers' body.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.