Crime & Safety

Badly Decomposed Body Found Along River Road in Inver Grove Heights

Police have asked the public for help identifying the body of a middle-aged black male.

The Dakota County Sheriff's office and the Inver Grove Heights Police Department have asked the public for help identifying a badly decomposed body found along the Mississippi River on Tuesday.

A worker cutting grass located the body lying underneath an old dock and other debris, Dakota County Sheriff Dave Bellows said.  Investigators believe spring flood waters carried the body to the location of the discovery before receding.

"[The worker] saw what appeared to be a pair of tennis shoes protruding from underneath the dock," Bellows said on Friday morning. The body is that of a middle-aged black male, according to a press release issued by the sheriff's office on Friday.

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The Dakota County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy, but has ruled the cause of death undetermined at this time, Bellows said.

The Dakota County Sheriff has jurisdiction over all waterways within Dakota County, but Bellows said his office is working in conjunction with Inver Grove Heights police investigators. The body was found around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday in a remote area at the end of River Road in Inver Grove Heights, Bellows said.

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Police have yet to identify the body. Anyone with information regarding the identity of the man or the circumstances surrounding this death is asked to contact Captain Jim Rogers at 651-438-4721.


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