Body found in ditch near Kennett identified

KENNETT, Mo. — Dunklin County authorities are currently investigating the cause of death of a man whose body was found in a drainage ditch near Kennett.

The subject has been identified as Mike Chandler, 52, of the Caruthersville, Mo. area.

According to Dunklin County Sheriff Bob Holder, a local farmer called in the report of a body in the Buffalo drainage ditch at the junction of Route Y and County Road 524 shortly before 9 a.m. on today. The site is approximately five miles south of Kennett.

The body was found with the upper torso on the ditch bank and the lower body underwater, Holder said.

The Dunklin County Sheriff's Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Senath Police Department, Malden Police Department, and Dunklin County Major Case Squad are investigating.