Death investigation underway after body found in wooded area of Johnson County

Police are working a death investigation after a body was found early Monday in Merriam.

Officers were dispatched a little after 3 a.m. to a remote area north of 75th Street, near the railroad tracks and west of Interstate 35, after a caller reported an unresponsive male body in a wooded area, said Capt. Troy Duvanel, with the Merriam Police Department.

Duvanel said authorities have not yet identified the victim, or the person’s age.

“We think it was somebody that was possibly homeless that was staying down in that area,” he said of the victim.

He said police don’t believe the body had been there very long before it was discovered.

“We’re still investigating, but there’s nothing obvious that it was a criminal act,” Duvanel said.

Merriam police are investigating the death, along with the Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Office.