WARREN TOWNSHIP - The deteriorating body of a man likely killed elsewhere and dropped off was found Wednesday evening in a field next to an abandoned house on Dover Avenue S.W.
Lt. Don Bishop described the man as a black male dressed only in underwear and a stocking cap. Due to the deterioration of the body, especially around the head and face, he said he was unable to determine the man's age.
"He was dumped in this field," Bishop said. "There was no blood or any other indication that he died here."
Bishop could not say how the police believe the man died. An autopsy will be performed to try to answer those and other questions, he said.
The woman who discovered the body told the Tribune Chronicle that she smelled a stench Tuesday.
"I thought it was a dead animal," she said. "We get those around here."
The woman, who declined to give her name, said when she let her dog out it kept going to the field.
Although she did not smell the level of odor earlier on Wednesday, her dog once again went to the field Wednesday evening when she let it out.
It was when she followed her pet, the woman saw the body's torso.
"Because the grass was so high, I didn't see the man's head or legs," she said.
She called police right after, about 9:15 p.m. By Wednesday night, the stench from the field significantly increased.
The house has been abandoned for years, she said. People have used it as a dumping site. A boat was left near the abandoned house, she said.
"I thought the smell was coming out of the boat," the woman added.
While police examined the scene, a family brought a flier that held a picture of a missing relative.
People standing around the police tape held onto one another, some holding back tears.
Bishop said Warren Township has no missing persons reports on file. However, as the department called around, they learned that Warren police has an active missing person case.
Bishop, however, cautioned that the body that was found on Wednesday may not have anything to with the Warren case.