Lake Martin – As of presstime Tuesday, investigators haven’t disclosed whether the corpse found near the boat ramp Friday morning was murdered at the lake or murdered elsewhere and dumped here.

The victim, identified as Cory Sonnier, 29, of Lafayette, reportedly had multiple stab wounds.

Sonnier’s body was found by a lone kayaker around 6 a.m. on June 24.

Tour guide and snack bar owner Bryan Champagne described the kayaker as an older man who frequents the lake. Champagne said the kayaker came to his place of business, The Wharf on Lake Martin, around 6 a.m. Friday and said their was a dead body at or in the water.

“He said he didn’t have service on his cell phone and wanted to know if I had a phone there,” Champagne said.

The guide’s cell phone worked so he called the authorities and the two men waited until the deputies arrived.

The kayaker, who remains publicly unidentified, was “pretty shaken up” by the discovery, Champagne said.

“It’s a very bad situation,” he said. “This is a place where families come to relax and enjoy themselves.”

While the gristly discovery has been the buzz among locals, the mostly out-of-the-area visitors coming to the Nature Conservancy’s Lake Martin interpretive center have seemed unaware of it, said Kacy Kobrin, the Conservancy’s Cypress Island program manager.

“Actually I wasn’t aware of anything wrong myself until I saw that the road was closed,” Kobrin said.

The St. Martin Sheriff‘s Office cordoned off the parking lot at the boat ramp for processing as a crime scene.

Lake Martin receives international attention for its natural beauty and abundant wildlife, especially birds and alligators. It’s also a popular fishing and paddling spot for locals.

The case is being investigated by the St. Martin Sheriff’s Office.