Farmer driving harvester uncovers body between rows of soybeans, NC deputies say
A farmer harvesting his crop just east of Charlotte in Union County made a grisly discovery: A body was decomposing among the rows of soybeans, reports WCCB.
On Tuesday, the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the body as 33-year-old Carl Dewayne Melton, the Union County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Melton was identified through medical records, according to the sheriff’s office.
“The Medical Examiner’s Office will continue their efforts to determine a cause of death,” the sheriff’s office news release said.
Sheriff’s investigators were notified on Sept. 3 that Melton was missing, according to the news release. He was last seen on Aug. 10, investigators said in the news release.
“Since receiving the missing person report, a team of Detectives and Patrol Deputies have worked tirelessly to locate Mr. Melton,” the sheriff’s office news release said.
The farmer, who was not identified, was operating a combine harvesting machine at about 4 p.m. Monday when he spotted the body below, said the station.
Investigators say the bean field is about 30 miles southeast of Charlotte, near the intersection of McManus and Latham roads, reports WBTV.
Charlotte TV station WSOC says the farmer “immediately stopped and called 911,” summoning deputies to the 250-acre field.
The body was so badly decomposed -- consisting largely of bones -- that deputies could not tell if it was a man or woman, the station said.
Sheriff’s detectives “continue to investigate this matter as an active death investigation,” according to Tuesday’s sheriff’s office news release.
“This is not the outcome we were hoping for, and we will continue to hold Mr. Melton’s family in our thoughts and prayers,” Sheriff Eddie Cathey said in Tuesday’s news release. “Our Detectives will continue to investigate Mr. Melton’s death, and I praise their exhaustive efforts in resolving this matter.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Union County sheriff’s detectives at 704-283-3789 or Union County Crime Stoppers at 704-283-5600.
This story was originally published October 23, 2018 at 7:20 AM.