MOORESBURG — A Hawkins County man found walking naked along Route 31 in the Mooresburg community early Friday reportedly told police he had misplaced his clothes and his vehicle shortly after parking to “relax from stress.”
Shortly before 1 a.m. Friday, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Josh Byrd responded to a complaint of a man walking in the roadway along Route 31 wearing nothing but a pair of tennis shoes.
The naked man, later identified as Michael Adam Underwood, 24, 107 Helton Lane, Mooresburg, was located on Route 31 near the Mooresburg Springs Road intersection.
Deputies told Underwood to stop, but Underwood allegedly ran behind a guardrail and into the woods.
After a 20-minute search, Byrd and Deputy Michael Lipe found Underwood “crouched behind a tree.”
The deputies observed Underwood to have suffered several recent abrasions all over his body.
Underwood was unsteady on his feet, appeared under the influence, and allegedly admitted that he’d fallen off some nearby embankments “several times” prior to the arrival of deputies.
After being taken into custody, Underwood allegedly stated that he had parked his car to “relax from stress,” and that he subsequently fell into a creek.
He told deputies he took off his clothes to let them dry.
“Mr. Underwood seemed to be very disoriented,” Byrd said. “I asked Mr. Underwood where his clothing was, and he could not give an exact location. I also asked Mr. Underwood where his vehicle was, and again he couldn’t give an exact location.”
Byrd added, “I was advised by Mr. Underwood that he had become lost and couldn’t find his clothing nor vehicle after parking to relax from stress.”
The deputies later found Underwood’s clothes stuffed into a brush pile next to a creek.
Hawkins County EMS responded to the scene, but Underwood refused treatment. He was charged with indecent exposure, public intoxication and evading arrest, and was released on $2,250 bond after about five hours in jail.