Dunklin County body indentified by police

SEARCHING FOR SUSPECTS

Dunklin County Democrat

KENNETT, Mo. -- A body discovered in a roadside ditch was identified Friday as that of a runaway Arkansas teen-ager, Dunklin County officials said.

Dunklin County Sheriff Bob Holder identified the youth as Jonathan D. Marshall, 15, of Blytheville, Ark. The identification was made after an intensive 64-hour non-stop investigation that began with the discovery of Marshall's body Wednesday morning.

Arkansas authorities said Marshall had been reported as a runaway since Dec. 7.

Marshall's unclothed body was found around 8 a.m. Wednesday by an Independence Township road worker, Robert Duncan, who was grading a gravel section of County Road 551. The body was lying in a water-filled ditch.

Dunklin County coroner Jack Adkin took the victim's body to Farmington, Mo., Thursday for an autopsy at the Mineral Area Regional Medical Center. Sheriff Holder said preliminary findings of the autopsy indicate the cause of death as blunt force trauma and a stab wound.

The investigation now moves into the second phase, which Holder said is to identify and arrest whoever is responsible for Marshall's death. With the identification of Marshall, the investigation has widened to include Arkansas law enforcement officials.

Investigators don't believe Marshall was killed where his body was found, but Holder said they do not know where the actual homicide took place.

Law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation include the Dunklin County Sheriff's Department and Major Case Squad, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Kennett Police Department as well as Arkansas authorities.