COLUMBIA, Mo. - An autopsy was completed Wednesday on a body recovered from the Missouri River, but the cause and manner of death is yet to be determined, Callaway County Sheriff Clay Chism said.
"Further medical testing and investigation is ongoing to reach a conclusion," Chism said Wednesday afternoon.
The body remains unidentified.
"Measures are being taken to identify the body, although, it could be weeks or months for this to be achieved," he added.
At 3:28 p.m. Tuesday, a call was made to the county's joint communications center reporting seeing a body in the Missouri River in the southern part of the county. Callaway County Sheriff's deputies responded, and assistance was requested of the Osage County Sheriff's Office, the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Missouri Department of Conservation.
At 4:58 p.m. Tuesday, Osage County Sheriff Michael Bonham located the body on the Callaway County side of the river near Tebbetts, east of the Missouri/Osage river confluence. The body was recovered and transported by the Missouri Highway Patrol (marine operations division) to a staging area in Callaway County west of Tebbetts, then to the medical examiner's office in Columbia.
"We have also been in contact with various law enforcement agencies regarding ongoing missing person investigations," Chism said. "We are utilizing various law enforcement resources to further this investigation."
The Missouri River has been drawing concern for more than a week as high water has been flooding the area, covering farmlands and roads to the north including Missouri 94 and the accompanying Katy Trail. Multiple roads have been and continue to be closed due to flooding.