Authorities are investigating the discovery of a body this morning in southwest Iowa. Atlantic Police Lieutenant Steve Green says an Iowa Department of Transportation road crew found the body of an individual in a culvert near the Casey’s west store in Atlantic, just after 11 a.m.
Green said this afternoon it’s too early in the investigation to say whether the body was that of a male or female, and no other details will be released until an autopsy is conducted and the person’s relatives are notified. Green would also not speculate if the remains are those of an Atlantic man who was reported missing over the weekend.
Police say 26-year-old Justin Eugene Hoeck was last seen walking away from a residence at 6th and Laurel Streets in Atlantic, between 3:40 and 4:30 a.m. Saturday, less than five blocks away from the location where the body was found this morning.