Body found behind Poplar Bluff school likely Texas man

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Authorities are using dental records to determine if the body found Monday afternoon in a wooded area behind Poplar Bluff Junior High School is that of a Texas man.

A school maintenance worker found what was later determined to be a human body in an area between the junior high and the U.S. Forest Service office at 3:35 p.m. Monday.

Because of the body's advanced state of decomposition, authorities were unable to make an identification based on the ID found with the man's body. A dead dog also was found with it.

"If it is who we believe it is, he's a resident from Texas living a transient life who came in on the train," explained Butler County Coroner Jim Akers.

"Due to the state of decomposition, all we could determine was physical characteristics of the remains were the same as those of the person we suspect it to be," Akers said.

The dog, he said, had a rabies tag from Texas, along with a microchip.

"We were able to link the dog as being owned by the person we suspect," said Akers, who described the dog as the "perfect best friend."

Akers said the dog, which was on a leash, could have left as it "wasn't tethered strong enough it couldn't have broken free."

Personal items belonging to the unidentified person were found at the scene, Akers said.

Authorities said they believe the man has been a transient since June 25.

"He had a job in Fort Worth, Texas," Akers said. "He never showed up for work after June 25. He's not been seen by his employer since then and still has a paycheck to pick up."

Local authorities earlier reported the last documented contact with a law enforcement entity was in early to mid-July in Poplar Bluff when a Forest Service employee spoke with the man.

An autopsy was completed Tuesday afternoon by Dr. Russell Deidiker at Mineral Area Regional Medical Center in Farmington, Missouri.

"The autopsy was inconclusive," Akers said. "We have no signs of foul play."

"The autopsy was unable to determine cause of death or manner, which was expected" due to the state of decomposition.

"I believe they tried to take some skin [and] tissue samples, but it's a grim outlook whether anything will be testable" for toxicology analysis, Akers said.

An autopsy also was attempted on the dog; however, "decomp was too far gone," Akers said.

With no fingerprints to reference, authorities are attempting to use dental records to get what Akers described as a scientific identification.

Along with Deidiker, Akers said, he has consulted Dr. Michael Price, a Poplar Bluff dentist, who is a member of the Missouri Emergency Response Identification Team, about making a dental identification.

"We have obtained dental records and are hopeful those will give us the scientific identification," Akers said.

Investigators, he said, also have located who "we believe to be his father. He is adopted, so no DNA can be obtained [from family members].

"The family is looking for old personal items that we might be able to use DNA on."

While awaiting a dental comparison, Akers said, officers are pursuing "more background into the past of who we believe the person is."