By Blake Deshazo | The Selma Times-Journal

The Selma Police Department is investigating a decomposing body that was found in the woods by a landowner on River Road.

According to Selma Police Chief John Brock, the landowner alerted authorities Thursday morning of the discovery which was between the two and three-mile markers.

“The landowner was out checking his land first thing this morning, found a body and called police around 9 a.m.,” Brock said. “We went out there. We discovered a male subject laying about 75 yards off the roadway in a wooded area.”

The body, which is a black male, has not been identified and has been sent off for an autopsy.

“Right now we are working to determine who he is,” Brock said. “We’ve sent the body to the department of forensic science in Montgomery to find out the cause of death and find the identification of him.”

Brock said the body was too decomposed to determine a preliminary cause of death.

“It looks like he has been out there for several days,” Brock said. “The body was very decomposed, so it is hard to determine anything.“

Brock said the department is looking into multiple missing person reports to determine if the body matches any of them.

“We’re looking at several missing person reports that we have, trying to determine if that’s one of the missing persons right now,” Brock said.

Brock said officers are still investigating the case.

Check back later for more details.