Body found along I-44 identified; murder suspected

SULLIVAN, Mo. (AP) -- Police believe a man whose remains were discovered in March along Interstate 44 in eastern Missouri was the victim of a homicide.

Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke on Friday identified the victim as 52-year-old Walter Mosier. Toelke described Mosier as a drifter originally from Bedford, Ind. He was identified when investigators were able to trace a pin that had been attached to Mosier's left arm from a prior injury.

Medical records from a possible match out of Oklahoma were sent to Toelke's office, and X-rays provided positive identification.

The skeletal remains were found March 15 at an overpass near Sullivan, about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis. Toelke said bone injuries indicate Mosier had been murdered, but authorities don't know where the killing occurred.

Mosier's most recent address was in Seneca, Mo., but no one had seen or heard from him since June, Toelke said.