Autopsy completed on body discovered in Ixonia, identity still a mystery

TOWN OF IXONIA (WITI) -- An autopsy has been completed on a body discovered in a cornfield in the Town of Ixonia this weekend, according to officials in Jefferson County. The body has not yet been identified.

DNA tests are being done to determine the identity of the woman. An official cause of death has not yet been determined.

Richard Degner watched for 12 hours as Jefferson County officials investigated the scene Saturday afternoon, March 29th.

The body was discovered not far from the road by a passerby traveling in a vehicle.

Officials say the body was decomposed, and had been there most likely through the winter.

Jefferson County officials say the corn in the field was harvested in late November, but with huge combines, lots of stalks being ground up and some harvesting done at night, a body close to the ground could go unnoticed.

Degner says until, perhaps, rain washed the corn's dust away.

"The passerby simply saw something out of the ordinary. He was going by in a vehicle out in the field and exited his vehicle to check on it and identified it as the remains of a human body," Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy Chief Jeffrey Parker said.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department says they issued a notice to departments in the area that a woman's body was discovered. There is only one police department that has responded with interest.

"We've had communication with the Milwaukee Police Department. Right now, we're in the same holding pattern that they are in," Parker said.

This weekend, two sources told FOX6 News Milwaukee police notified Kelly Dwyer's family that this decomposed body had been discovered.

27-year-old Dwyer has been missing since October.

At this point, there is no confirmation on the body's identity.

MONITOR FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.