Jail work crew finds body in Missouri ditch

ST. JOSEPH – Northwest Missouri authorities are trying to identify a body found in a drainage ditch by a prison work crew.

The Buchanan County crew found the body in a drainage tube Monday while doing trash pickup near Interstate 229 in southern St. Joseph.

The St. Joseph News-Press reports a jail prisoner told Sheriff’s deputy Matthew Thornton the crew had found human remains in a culvert used for drainage underneath the interstate.

The county medical examiner said an autopsy will be performed in Kansas City to determine the cause of death and identification.