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BODY FOUND IN AREA WHERE MISSING MAN LAST SEEN

By Ray King /OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 9:36 AM CDT

The body of a man was found about 5 p.m. Monday not far from where a missing Jefferson County man was last seen.

Authorities don’t know whether the remains are those of Joe Santo, who has been missing since early September.

A body was found in a wooded area about 150 to 200 yards behind a house in the 9700 block of Middle Warren Road, said Capt. John McNeil of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.

A man walking in the woods discovered the body, McNeil said.

Officials from the state Medical Examiner’s Office will have to determine the man’s identity as well as the cause and manner of death, Chief Deputy Coroner Chad Kelley said. They will pick up the body Tuesday.

Deputy Coroner David Westbrook pronounced the man dead at 6:01 p.m. Monday.

Santo, 49, was last seen Sept. 9 on Middle Warren Road after he walked away from his house on Pine Cone Lane at about 6 p.m.

“It is believed Mr. Santo was on foot and in a confused state of mind due to medications,” said lead investigator Jennifer Carr in a recent interview.

Santo was last seen wearing an off-white T-shirt, brown or khaki shorts or pants, and black house shoes.

A five-day search by deputies, volunteers and the Department of Correction along Middle Warren Road and other areas was unsuccessful.

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