Badly Decomposed Body Found Along River Road in Inver Grove Heights

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.

It's unclear how long the deceased had been in the water prior to discovery. 

"That's difficult to determine. Clearly we're talking weeks, if not months," said Dakota County Sheriff Dave Bellows.

A worker cutting grass located the body lying underneath an old dock and other debris, Bellows said. 

"[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.

Investigators believe spring flood waters carried the body to the location of the discovery before receding. The Mississippi's largest local tributary, the Minnesota River, has been at or near flood stage since spring began.

"Rivers carry a lot of debris and the water was moving fast, especially this spring," Bellows said. "It's hard to say where the body went into the river."

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.

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.