SUSPICIOUS DEATH INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY IN DORCHESTER CO.

(EAST NEW MARKET, MD) – Maryland State Police homicide investigators are in the early stages of an investigation into the suspicious death of an unidentified person whose decomposed remains were found today in a rural area of Dorchester County.

The remains of the person have not been identified. Investigators will await forensic examination from experts at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner who will attempt to determine the sex, age, race, and identity of the remains, as well as a cause and manner of death. The preliminary investigation indicates the person may have been dead less than six months. 

Just before noon today, the Dorchester County Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call about human remains being found in a wooded area on Red Hill Road, about one-quarter mile west of Linkwood Road, in East New Market, Md. Deputies from the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office responded and found the human remains in what appeared to be a shallow grave. The Dorchester County Sheriff requested Maryland State Police Homicide Unit investigators respond and assume the investigation, with the assistance of sheriff’s deputies and detectives. 

The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit responded, as did investigators from the State Police Criminal Enforcement Division and the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office. State Police crime scene technicians responded to conduct a forensic excavation of the site. 

Investigators learned the remains had been found by a person with a crop damage permit to hunt on the property. He came upon the remains in the woods not far from a soybean field. 

Police investigators and crime scene technicians spent the day processing the scene and collecting evidence. The Dorchester County State’s Attorney was notified and responded to the scene to assist investigators with the investigation. 

The remains are being transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy. Investigators are contacting police departments throughout the region to identify reports of missing persons from the area. The investigation is continuing.