MADISONVILLE, KY (9/10/12) – Hopkins County Sheriff Frank Latham told SurfKY News this morning that firefighters responding to a vehicle fire in a field just off of Highway 813 near Morton’s Gap on Saturday discovered a body after the fire was extinguished.

The car and remains were transported off-scene where the body was then removed and examined by County Coroner Dennis Mayfield, according to Latham. Law enforcement officials spent approximately 17 hours investigating the scene of the incident.

Latham says that the car had out-of-state tags and that the identity of the deceased is unknown at this time. Detective Will Coursey is the investigating officer on the case and he, accompanied by Mayfield, has traveled to Louisville where the body has been transported for autopsy, which was scheduled for this morning. Latham says he expects Coursey to return midday today.

The sheriff’s office remains tight-lipped about the case, but Latham expects to release more information once the results of the autopsy have been released. It is unclear whether foul-play or drug activity was involved.

“For now, this is still just a death investigation,” said Latham. “We will just have to wait and see. We will know a lot more this afternoon.”

Anyone with information related to this case is asked to call the sheriff’s department at (270) 821-5661.

Casey Piscitelli
SurfKY News

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