KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The mother of a missing central Missouri man will be asked to provide DNA to allow authorities to determine if a body found in a crate encased in concrete in a dumpster is that of her son, who lived in a home for the developmentally disabled before he disappeared.
Fulton Police Chief Steve Myers said he is "95 percent" sure the body found Monday in a Fulton storage unit is that of Carl DeBrodie 31, of Fulton, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of St. Louis. The body was badly decomposed and investigators have not been able to retrieve dental records, so DNA is needed to make a definitive identification, said Myers, who planned to meet with DeBrodie's mother Wednesday.
A medical examiner is working to determine a cause of death.
DeBrodie was reported missing April 17 but Myers said it was unclear how long DeBrodie was gone and it's possible he was missing for months.
"We have several different people we are talking to about that," Myers said. "We're getting conflicting information and are trying to establish some sort of timeline."
When his disappearance was reported, DeBrodie had lived for nine years in a residential home with four or five people with mental disabilities. It was operated by a private contractor called The Second Chance, but ownership was recently taken over by Finck & Associates. The former director of The Second Chance home reported DeBrodie missing, Myers said.
A phone number for The Second Chance in Fulton was disconnected on Wednesday.
Law enforcement and private individuals had conducted several searches for DeBrodie before the body was found inside the storage unit after investigators received a tip, Myers said. No further searches for DeBrodie are planned.
Investigators have pursued over 150 leads and are interviewing several people of interest, Myers said.
"At some point we're going to bring this to a conclusion, but we need a cause of death first," said Myers.
Family members on Wednesday asked media to contact the family's attorney, Rudy Viets, who did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press.
On Tuesday, a cousin, Rebecca Bell, told The Columbia Tribune that DeBrodie had mental disabilities, difficulty communicating and was legally blind.
Bell said it's likely DeBrodie was dead for a long time because the body was so badly decomposed the family won't be able to have an open casket funeral.
DeBrodie belonged to a "good, loving family that would've done anything for him," Bell said. "He was a very sweet, caring young man, and all he wanted was to be loved and cared about."