HOPEWELL, Va. – Hopewell police are investigating after a man out walking his dog discovered a man's body near the woods in the 500 block of Station Street around 8 a.m. Sunday not far from the Honeywell chemical plant.
“We found a severely decomposed body,” Hopewell Police Deputy Chief Robert Skowron said. “We do believe this is a suspicious death.”
Hopewell police were on the scene investigating for hours Sunday morning.
Neighbors knew something was wrong.
“We figured something wild had happened down there because normally you don`t see that many cops or detectives,” said Christine Jarratt, who lives less than a mile away from where the body was found. “This is too close to home for me.”
Jarratt’s daughter said the neighborhood is normally quiet except .
“At that specific spot where the body was found people drop off stuff there all the time. There`s always vehicles stopping there. That spot gets a lot of traffic,” Ashley Jarratt said. “I’m surprised they haven`t found one sooner.”
Police said the biggest challenge will be identifying the remains.
“In any type of death investigation you face a road block very early on if you are not able to do a positive identification -- and that`s what we are working on right now is trying to find out who this person is,” Skowron said.
The remains were transported to the medical examiner's office to determine the cause of death. Hopewell police said they are working with surrounding cities to see if anyone has been reported missing.
Hopewell police ask anyone who may have observed anything suspicious in that area, to call the Hopewell Crime Solvers at 804-541-2202.
