GA -- Bagpiper killed in scuba diving accident; son who vanished 4 years ago found dead at home, Atlanta, March 2025

[vls12345]

Atlanta bagpiper killed while scuba diving; son who vanished 4 years ago found dead at home

The skeletal remains of the son reported missing years ago were found in a treehouse at the home.

www.wsbtv.com

 

[vls12345]

'The bagpiper of Decatur' dies in scuba accident; missing son's body found in treehouse

Henry Frantz Jr. earned the unofficial title of "bagpiper of Decatur" through years of performing at gatherings: funerals, weddings, birthday parties, you name it.

decaturish.com

 

[Keiri]

This headline is doing some real heavy lifting. I thought you were paraphrasing, but no, it's real. So many questions! Did they just walk in and there's dead Hank, sitting on the couch? or what?

EDIT: IN THE TREEHOUSE. OK.

 

[vls12345]

I know. It seems... odd.

Eta: And tragic.

 

[vls12345]

Beloved Decatur bagpiper dies in scuba accident; missing son’s skeletal remains found in treehouse

Henry Frantz died on March 10 at age 74 following a scuba diving accident in Hawaii. Days later, his family discovered the skeletal remains of his son in a treehouse.

www.atlantanewsfirst.com

 

[vls12345]

This headline is doing some real heavy lifting. I thought you were paraphrasing, but no, it's real. So many questions! Did they just walk in and there's dead Hank, sitting on the couch? or what?

EDIT: IN THE TREEHOUSE. OK.

I think that what makes this seem so odd is the way the articles are written. They come across as a fond obituary of a local bagpiper. And many paragraphs later, it's almost like an afterthought that his son's (who disappeared 4 years ago) skeleton was found in the backyard treehouse. But there's really no other information about the son & the circumstances of him disappearing 4 years ago. Was there a search? Was he estranged from his family (because the sister's remark seems rather nonchalant, but that could be a misrepresentation in the reporting)? Are friends and family trying to get ahead of the story with the emphasis on how great the dad was vs. little info or seeming emotion about the son? Does the family think he left, snuck back at some later date & then climbed in the tree house & died? Was it self harm, overdose, something else? And there are just so many more odd things with the manner of the articles & questions that I have.... MOO.

 

[vls12345]

A tribute post in memory of the dad from the Atlanta Pipe Band:

https://www.instagram.com/atlantapipeband/p/DHMdIDRyEKY/?img_index=1

 

[rleigh123]

'The bagpiper of Decatur' dies in scuba accident; missing son's body found in treehouse

Henry Frantz Jr. earned the unofficial title of "bagpiper of Decatur" through years of performing at gatherings: funerals, weddings, birthday parties, you name it.

decaturish.com

IMO

This article understandably is focused on the father, but IMO strangely drops in shocking news about his son, then too quickly moves right back to Dad.

Stranger still is the acknowledgment by the writer of readers' curiosity about the son, and the writer proceeds to just give the basic outline about the finding of him. And then tells zilch about him.

Sheesh tell us something.

IMO

 

[al66pine]

Treehouse Death?

Beloved Decatur bagpiper dies in scuba accident; missing son’s skeletal remains found in treehouse

Henry Frantz died on March 10 at age 74 following a scuba diving accident in Hawaii. Days later, his family discovered the skeletal remains of his son in a treehouse.

www.atlantanewsfirst.com

@vls12345​

Thx for your posts w link : ) and comments in earlier post too.
Agreeing about lack of info in article about the life of the treehouse decedent. A rush to publish?

"On March 16, the family went to his Garden Lane home to settle his affairs. They found a skeleton inside a backyard treehouse, Decatur Police Lt. John Bender said." bbm
I suppose it's early days for CoD & MoD.

"Police in Maui are investigating Henry Frantz’s death, and the DeKalb Medical Examiner is investigating his son’s death, but foul play is not suspected in either case, Culpepper said. The Maui Police Department spokesperson declined to comment, saying the incident remains under investigation."
bbm
Culpepper = dau. of Henry Frantz scubadiver-bagpiper-atty; sister of Hank Frantz.

Like you said, seemingly non-chalant comment. imo

@rleigh123

________________________

Beloved Decatur bagpiper dies in scuba accident; missing son’s skeletal remains found in treehouse dtd. Mar. 25

 

[LoveyG]

Wow. I think at some point, over the 4 years my family member was missing, I would have looked in the treehouse.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Wow. I think at some point, over the 4 years my family member was missing, I would have looked in the treehouse.

but why?

 

[DustysMom]

Wow. I think at some point, over the 4 years my family member was missing, I would have looked in the treehouse.

Exact My first thought

 

[nhmemorymaker]

His daughter, Rebecca Frantz Culpepper, confirmed that the skeleton was the remains of her brother, Henry Doyle Colon Frantz, who had been missing for four years. He was 28 when he went missing, Culpepper said.

“He left home one day, and he apparently came back,” Culpepper said.

Culpepper noted her dad lived a “very active lifestyle,” and most of the family lived out of state and did not go by the house regularly. In addition to the loss of his son, Frantz was predeceased by his second wife, Fran, who died in 2018 following an illness.

Culpepper said her father’s death, sad as it was, is how he would’ve wanted to go.

'The bagpiper of Decatur' dies in scuba accident; missing son's body found in treehouse

Henry Frantz Jr. earned the unofficial title of "bagpiper of Decatur" through years of performing at gatherings: funerals, weddings, birthday parties, you name it.

decaturish.com

There are so many abandoned treehouses across this world... With no relatives living close--who would have even wanted to go into a treehouse.... except for someone who came home to feel his youth again..... moo

 

[al66pine]

Where's the treehouse where Hank's remains were found?

An article above noted fam. went to home on Garden Lane, so I checked RE websites & Google maps.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/172-Garden-Ln-Decatur-GA-30030/59932045_zpid/

IF this ^ is the house, it was built in 1947, sold in 1983 & 1990, so presumably 1990 = Henry buying.
On .3 acre lot.

Mature trees, big enough (in undated pic) to hold weight of treehouse.
But houses there seem close together.
Depending on exact placement of treehouse & its configuration, what someone in that house see?
What about seeing from neighbors' houses, to the sides & behind? IDK.

Remains were skeletonized. Nobody detected decomp odor?
Hank vanished four years ago.

Sad, sad, sad.

 

[Keiri]

I would assume if the neighbors could see a body decomposing, or even smell it, they’d have done something about it. I’m assuming he was on something or disoriented somehow to go in the treehouse.

 

[dalsglen]

https://www.wsbradio.com/news/local/skeletal-remains-found-tree-house-backyard-dekalb-county-home

address is noted as being garden lane. Looking at satellite images there's a lot of trees shielding each house.

 

[Seattle1]

Did 28 year old Henry Franz Jr missing ever make the news? Did he have a missing person thread here? What a strange story.

 

[Seattle1]

Atlanta bagpiper dies scuba diving, missing son's remains reportedly found 6 days later

The skeletal remains of the missing son of Henry Frantz, an Atlanta bagpiper who died while scuba diving in Hawaii, were found in a Georgia treehouse.

www.usatoday.com

3/26/25

On March 16, six days after Frantz's death, family members found the skeletal remains of his son, 28-year-old Henry Hank Frantz, in a treehouse in the backyard of the Georgia home his father once lived at, Decatur police and the DeKalb Medical Examiner's Office told USA TODAY.

"The DeKalb County Medical Examiner investigator confirmed the skeleton was human and took the remains for further investigation and identification," police said.

Family members told WJCL that Frantz's son disappeared four years ago and hadn't been seen since. The DeKalb Medical Examiner's Office confirmed to USA TODAY on Wednesday that the skeleton belongs to Henry Hank Frantz, but the office said a cause and manner of death are still pending.

An investigator said he did not suspect foul play and could not determine how Frantz's son died, WJCL reported.

 

[vls12345]

I think it's no surprise that the DM has glommed onto this story. And kudos to them for at least adding a photo of the deceased son to the story.

A bagpiper died scuba diving... then family make a shocking discovery

Henry Frantz, 74, died while diving off the coast of Maui on March 10 and his family came to his home in Decatur, northeast Atlanta, on march 16 to settle his affairs - and got a huge shock.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The missing/deceased son, Henry Frantz:

 

[browneyes]

Why did the family members check the treehouse?