Lewis Clayton (Clay) Bryant was born and raised in Troup County, Georgia, and began his career in law enforcement in 1973 as a radio operator with the Georgia State Patrol. In 1976, at the age of twenty-one, he became the youngest trooper on the Georgia State Patrol. In 1980, he became police chief of Hogansville and stayed in that position for twelve years until resigning in 1992 and going into the private sector. He has been recognized as the most prolific cold case investigator in the United States for single-event homicides. His cases have been chronicled on 48 Hours Investigates, Bill Curtis's Cold Case Files and Discovery ID Murder Book and featured in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, as well as articles in many local and regional newspapers.