Store worker's body found behind cooler 10 years later
The body found behind a supermarket cooler in January has been identified as a man who went missing 10 years ago.
Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada of Council Bluffs was 25 years old when he left his parents’ home in 2009, reports the Des Moines Register.
The missing person case went unsolved until Jan. 24 when workers moving a freezer in the grocery store where Murillo-Moncada worked found human remains.
Authorities on Monday identified Murillo-Moncada using DNA collected from his biological parents, the Register reported. The death has been ruled accidental.
Murillo-Moncada was not scheduled to work the night of his disappearance but investigators believe he went to the store, climbed on top of the coolers and fell into the 18-inch gap behind them.
Police told the Register that it would have been a 12-foot fall and the noise of the freezers could have muffled any cries for help.
“It’s so loud, there’s probably no way anyone heard him,” Council Bluffs Police Sgt. Brandon Danielson told the Register.
Former employees at the store told investigators it was common for employees to be on top of the coolers, the Register reported. The space was used for storage.
Steven Adams is a Tribune-Review manager/photography. You can contact Steven at sadams@triblive.com.
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