UPDATE: Investigation continues into decomposed body found in river in Wirt County

UPDATE 2:05 PM

As of Tuesday afternoon, authorities are still continuing the investigation into a body that was found in Wirt County.

The badly decomposed body of an unidentified male was found on Sunday evening, authorities say. They suspect that the body had been in the water for some time.

The body was sent to the West Virginia State medical examiner’s office in Charleston to get more information about the time and cause of death to forward law enforcement's investigation.

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4/8/19

The body of an unidentified man was found in the Little Kanawha River in Wirt County Sunday evening, authorities said.

Sheriff Travis Corbitt said a property owner notified authorities after finding the badly decomposed body between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. in an area between Burning Springs and Creston along Route 5.

While the Sheriff’s department is looking into if there is a connection between the body and missing people in the area, they do not have any reason to believe the incident is related. They say that residents in the area don’t need to worry because of the discovery.

Authorities suspect that the body may have traveled down the river due to flooding, but do not have many concrete details at this time.

“All we know is that there is a deceased body. There is no indication on what the cause of death was, time of death. Other than it was a male, that’s about all we know right now,” says Chief Deputy Mike Deem of the Wirt County Sheriff’s Department.

The body, which has been sent to the West Virginia State medical examiner’s office in Charleston, appeared to have been in the water for an extended period of time, Corbitt said.