Decomposed body discovered in Rusk County

RUSK COUNTY — The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Corrections were searching for a man in the wooded area near the River of Life Ministries on Highway 79 South, according to Rusk County Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez. Our news partner KETK reports, the man’s body was discovered by a K-9 officer approximately 100 yards from the church before noon on Tuesday, and it was badly decomposed. Doctors told authorities it could have been in this area for 10 to 12 days. Law enforcement were looking for the man on Monday and the search was extended into Tuesday. The man is possibly from Rusk County and deputies were looking for him for six days, added Valdez. The Tyler forensic lab helped process the body and the scene. They also transported the body to Tyler. Officials are waiting for the autopsy and toxicology results before releasing the identity.