A man’s jailed as a material witness after the body of a Muscatine woman was found at the foot of a bridge across the Mississippi River. Assistant Muscatine County Attorney Alan Ostergren says she’s been identified as 21-year-old Miriam Carmona. She had not been reported missing before her body was found.
A passerby was driving along 102nd Avenue on the Illinois side of the river when he saw something, checked further and realized it was a body. At first, law enforcement agencies didn’t know who the victim was, or where she’d come from. Ostergren says it’s always a challenge to identify the victim in a case like this, and it’s a high priority because it’s frequently a starting point in the investigation. “It’s one of the most crucial leads to have,” he says.
From the time she was found Sunday night till Monday morning they worked and finally identified her by fingerprints. An autopsy was done Monday on the woman’s body. Ostergren won’t give details of the autopsy report but says it made it clear that this was a case of murder. A man’s been picked up as a material witness but has not been charged with a criminal offense.
Ostergren says the investigation and a number of leads are being pursued by both the Muscatine police and the Rock Island County Sheriff’s department on the Illinois side of the river. The prosecutor won’t say if there are warrants out for a suspect in the case.