WARREN TOWNSHIP - Investigators are working to determine whether the decomposed body of a man found Wednesday in a field here is that of a man who went missing four days earlier in Warren.
The family of a Bazetta man who was reported abducted in Warren on Sunday believes the body found in a field on Dover Street S.W. may be their relative, Jamaul R. Jones, 28.
Jones' family members went to the field late Wednesday. They said descriptions of tattoos and other identifiers match those of Jones.
Warren Township police Lt. Don Bishop said the man's body was taken to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's office in Cleveland because the face and body were too decomposed to do the autopsy locally.
The man's body had apparent gunshot wounds to the legs.
"We're not sure who it is, so we're waiting until the coroner makes that determination," Bishop said. "We can't confirm anything yet. We have to wait until we hear from the coroner's office. From our perspective, we truly believe it's him."
Jones' father, Joe Murray Jr., said investigators are trying to Jones' obtain dental records. He also said they are conducting bloodwork to help determine if his son was the man found.
"We in the family believe that it's him, based on the tattoos that were described to us," Murray said.
Reports said Jones was visiting at an unknown address on Meadowbrook Avenue S.E. in Warren city about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, the last time Murray heard from his son.
Murray said he was told by a witness that his son was walking down the street when a car pulled up, a man with a mask exited and the two got back inside the car.
Bishop said Warren police are assisting in the investigation.
Bishop said he believes the man found in the field was murdered. He said it appeared a car drove into the field and two men grabbed the deceased by the legs and arms and tossed him in the field.
An area resident told police that she smelled what she thought might have been a dead animal on Tuesday.
She told reporters she followed her dog into the field at about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday and saw the man's torso in the three-foot high grass.