HEMPSTEAD COUNTY, Ark. — Officials are investigating after a body was found in a train car carrying corn to the Tyson feed mill plant on Highway 195 in Hempstead County near Fulton.
Around 4:20 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 16, employees were unloading a train car when someone spotted what looked like a human arm in the unloading chute underneath the car, according to the Hempstead County Sheriff's Office.
When deputies opened the top of the grain car, they found a human body wedged in the bottom of the empty car.
A wrecker service was called to retrieve the body from the car. They were able to lower a cable down through the car and moved a piece of metal to remove the body.
The body of an adult male was described as “badly composed” and the coroner officially pronounced him dead. The body is being sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for identification and to determine cause of death.
The train car reportedly dropped off beans in Mexico, proceeded on empty to Missouri to be loaded with corn then was sent to Hope, according to railroad officials.
From there, Kiamichi railroad transported the train to the Tyson feed mill for unloading.
The case is under investigation by the Hempstead County Sheriff’s Office, The Hempstead County Coroner, and the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division.
We will update this article with more information as it becomes available.