A woman who regularly walks the interstate corridor to pick up trash discovered the body yesterday and immediately called law enforcement authorities, he said.

Advanced decomposition of the body will make it difficult to identify the body or determine the precise cause of death, he said.

It is believed the body is that of a woman between the ages of 35 to 50.

An autopsy was taking place in Rapid City as Harmon spoke.

Determining the cause of death could take several weeks, he said. It can take several weeks to determine what chemicals, if any, were present in the body at the time of death, he said.

Lawrence County Sheriff Rick Mowell said in a press release that he and his staff will be treating the case as a homicide until such time that autopsy results might rule out foul play.

It is possible, said Harmon, that the body may be one of two women who have gone missing in the local area - one from Belle Fourche and one from Sturgis - in recent months.

Beverly Ozuna-Ulrich, 48, of Belle Fourche went missing on October 27 when she was last seen near her home.

Milla Marie Zierer, 41, of Sturgis, was last seen on November 6 in Sturgis.

Harmon said the detective bureau of the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office is in charge of the investigation. Anyone with any information concerning the case is asked to call 578-2230.