SHEPHERD — Irrigation district workers on Tuesday found a decomposed body in an irrigation canal near Mailbox Road.
Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder said Wednesday that authorities were still trying to identify the body and were checking missing persons reports to attempt to determine who it was and where it came from.
“We are looking for anything that might tie the body to any other missing persons reports in the area,” Linder said.
Deputies were dispatched to the site in a Billings Bench Water Association canal on Mailbox Road east of Highway 87 North at 9:40 a.m. Tuesday. Linder said irrigation district employees found the body while cleaning the canal.
Deputies and detectives responded and conducted their investigation, treating the incident as a crime scene, Linder said.
“Due to the decomposition, we are not able to determine the gender or any other identifiers,” he said. “An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning and I should have more information after that.”
