Marion County Coroner Troy Cannon says positive identification has been made on the body of a man found in a creek flowing through vacant land in Salem’s Westside Industrial Park.
He isn’t releasing the name yet pending notification of family but does confirm it is not a local person.
The identification came from a forensic autopsy being conducted on Monday in Champaign.
Cannon says so far no signs of foul play have been found, but it has not yet been ruled out either. He reports an effort is underway to determine why the man was in the Salem area. There is also a question if the man died where the body was found or if the body washed down the creek following the recent snowmelt and heavy rain.
Salem Police called in the State Police Crime Scene Investigation unit to assist in the investigation. A Marion County Sheriff’s Department investigator was also called because the location of where the death occurred was unclear. Members of the Salem Fire Protection District helped remove the body from the creek and place it in the coroner’s possession for investigation.
Salem Police received the call about the body being found at 1:48 Sunday afternoon.
We’ll provide further updates when they become available.
