Published: March 28, 2008 12:27 am            

Agencies check leads in Huntsville case

The Walker County Sheriff’s Department is investigating several leads to discover the identity and cause of death of a body found north of Huntsville on Wednesday morning.

The investigation began around 9 a.m., when the department received a call from a Walker County resident.

Sheriff Clint McRae said on Thursday the location of the crime scene remains undisclosed information until a follow-up of the investigation is completed.

The department, along with the Texas Rangers and an FBI crime scene specialist, hope to move forward in the case once reports and evidence have been compiled.

“We have a possible lead on both the identity of the victim and a possible subject, but right now, we’re still in an ongoing investigation,” McRae said. “We’ve received several statements from residents as well as the person who called in.

“Several agencies need to compile evidence ... we were on the scene until about 2:30 a.m. this morning.”

Although the identity and cause of death is still unconfirmed, McRae said the victim is thought to be a female.

The department estimates that the body, found in a shallow grave, has been at the location about three to six weeks.

“Because the body was so badly decomposed, we do not have (confirmation on those details, yet). The body will be sent to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office and an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.”

Part of the investigative process involved excavating, or digging, in the area of the crime scene.

“That is part of processing the scene — searching and looking for additional evidence that might lead us to how long the body has been on location or (other clues).”

McRae said the department has been in touch with other agencies that identify missing persons in the state.

“We’re still working on that,” McRae said. “There are several missing persons in Texas. We will get with different agencies to try and (match) positive identifications to determine the area where the victim is from.”

As the investigation continues and McRae said more information will become available.

“At this point, the investigation is pending,” McRae said. “We have follow up to do.”

        

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