DARLINGTON - A body found in rural South Wayne Monday morning is tentatively confirmed to be that of Dustin A. Boeck, a 30-year-old South Wayne man who was last seen Oct. 3.
The Lafayette County Sheriff's Department received a report of human remains found in a wooded area adjacent to a farm field along the 6000 block of River Bend Road just before 10 a.m. A person operating farm equipment in a field next to the wooded area observed the body, and detectives and the Lafayette County Coroner Virginia Douglas responded to investigate.
Douglas ordered an autopsy and has tentatively identified the body of the deceased as Boeck.
Boeck was reported missing Oct. 5. Boeck's car was found the morning of Oct. 3 in a ditch along River Bend Road, about one mile from where the body was found Monday. According to witnesses, Boeck left a residence in South Wayne between 10 and 11 p.m. Oct. 3. Sheriff Scott Pedley said suicide and foul play are not suspected to be the cause in Boeck's death. Pedley said despite search efforts, it appears the body had been there since about the time Boeck was reported missing. Pedley said there were three witnesses that saw Boeck leave a residence in South Wayne in the evening on Oct. 3. He said one witness said Boeck arrived at their Gratiot-area farm the morning of Oct. 3.
"(The witness said) he appeared to be in a diminished mental state and appeared paranoid. He asked a farmer for permission to hide his vehicle in a shed because he said, and I quote, "The cops are after me,' which we weren't, at least not in that capacity," Pedley said.
No warrants or holds were in Boeck's name when law enforcement began looking for him. Pedley said he cannot definitively say what the cause of death is without an autopsy report, which will likely be done sometime in the next few weeks. Pedley said despite law enforcement's best efforts to find Boeck, they were searching a large area with wetlands and wooded areas.
"It leaves a lot of unanswered questions," Pedley said. "Which way did he go? Did he get in a car? He must have left on foot at some point. We just don't know for certain."
Over the past few weeks, police used a remote control flying drone equipped with high resolution cameras, Madison Police Department cadaver dogs, Dane County Sheriff's Dive Team, a diver from the South Wayne Fire Department to search the nearby Pecatonica River, and a Department of Natural Resources boat in search efforts to locate Boeck.
Detectives followed leads of witnesses seeing Boeck in the city of Monroe, Baraboo, Hazel Green, Benton and a location in rural Stephenson County, Ill., as recently as two weeks ago. Pedley said the many sightings outside of the area the body was found deterred law enforcement efforts but followed up as many leads as they could.
"The social media chatter did not help us and was somewhat of a distraction to finding Dustin," Pedley said.
The Lafayette County Sheriff's Department received a report of human remains found in a wooded area adjacent to a farm field along the 6000 block of River Bend Road just before 10 a.m. A person operating farm equipment in a field next to the wooded area observed the body, and detectives and the Lafayette County Coroner Virginia Douglas responded to investigate.
Douglas ordered an autopsy and has tentatively identified the body of the deceased as Boeck.
Boeck was reported missing Oct. 5. Boeck's car was found the morning of Oct. 3 in a ditch along River Bend Road, about one mile from where the body was found Monday. According to witnesses, Boeck left a residence in South Wayne between 10 and 11 p.m. Oct. 3. Sheriff Scott Pedley said suicide and foul play are not suspected to be the cause in Boeck's death. Pedley said despite search efforts, it appears the body had been there since about the time Boeck was reported missing. Pedley said there were three witnesses that saw Boeck leave a residence in South Wayne in the evening on Oct. 3. He said one witness said Boeck arrived at their Gratiot-area farm the morning of Oct. 3.
"(The witness said) he appeared to be in a diminished mental state and appeared paranoid. He asked a farmer for permission to hide his vehicle in a shed because he said, and I quote, "The cops are after me,' which we weren't, at least not in that capacity," Pedley said.
No warrants or holds were in Boeck's name when law enforcement began looking for him. Pedley said he cannot definitively say what the cause of death is without an autopsy report, which will likely be done sometime in the next few weeks. Pedley said despite law enforcement's best efforts to find Boeck, they were searching a large area with wetlands and wooded areas.
"It leaves a lot of unanswered questions," Pedley said. "Which way did he go? Did he get in a car? He must have left on foot at some point. We just don't know for certain."
Over the past few weeks, police used a remote control flying drone equipped with high resolution cameras, Madison Police Department cadaver dogs, Dane County Sheriff's Dive Team, a diver from the South Wayne Fire Department to search the nearby Pecatonica River, and a Department of Natural Resources boat in search efforts to locate Boeck.
Detectives followed leads of witnesses seeing Boeck in the city of Monroe, Baraboo, Hazel Green, Benton and a location in rural Stephenson County, Ill., as recently as two weeks ago. Pedley said the many sightings outside of the area the body was found deterred law enforcement efforts but followed up as many leads as they could.
"The social media chatter did not help us and was somewhat of a distraction to finding Dustin," Pedley said.