Authorities are investigating a homicide after the body of a 25-year-old Michigan man was discovered in the woods behind a North Knoxville church on Monday.

Raynard Enlow, 25, of Detroit was found dead before 11 a.m. in the woods behind the parking lot of Norwood Church of Christ, 6001 Central Avenue Pike, according to a Knoxville Police Department news release.

While KPD spokesman Darrell DeBusk initially said there were no obvious signs of trauma to the body, an autopsy and ongoing investigation have revealed Enlow's death may have been a homicide, according to the release. The results of the autopsy and exact cause of death have not been released.

Enlow was reported missing by his father on Oct. 12, the release states. The Maryville Police Department found his 2010 Dodge Challenger abandoned in a parking lot two days later.

Enlow's body was discovered by a Priority Ambulance crew, which had been stopped in the parking lot, DeBusk said on Monday. The body was clothed and may have been there "a while," DeBusk said. Longtime church member Roger Hyman said his son asked "What's that smell?" upon exiting the car at a church function Sunday.

Enlow, who used to fix broken cell phones at a Boost Mobile store in Detroit, had a few friends in Tennessee that he occasionally traveled to visit, according to his sister, 23-year-old Penneta Enlow. She said she didn't know what her brother and his friends did together during his trips.

Enlow was supposed to return to Detroit on Sunday for his niece's third birthday party, his sister said. Because he was "very family-oriented," she immediately knew something was wrong when he didn't show up.

"He was supposed to have been back on Sunday," she said. "That's when they told us they found his car, so that's when we knew something was wrong because he doesn't go missing. Even if his phone was dead or broken, he'd find a way to call his children. He'd find a way to call his mom. ... (The police) got this expensive car that they just found, and he's not going to just leave his car, so where is he?"


Enlow had five siblings and three daughters — 3 years, 2 years and a couple months old, his sister said. In his spare time, he loved to make his family members laugh, and they often ate at restaurants or went shopping together.

"We're all close so if he had any spare time, we're all around," his sister said. "He's a joking person. In his spare time, he's adventurous. We'd go out to eat. He liked to shop, especially for his kids. Either the family is going out to eat or we're shopping. He spoiled us, so he's always buying us something. All of this threw us all for a loop because how did this happen to him?"