MARION, OH (MARION COUNTY NOW) – Officials with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said they hope to learn more about a deceased woman following an autopsy scheduled for Saturday in Lucas County.

Capt. Ken Rittenour of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office spoke with Marion County Now on Saturday morning as he was en route to the Lucas County Coroner’s Office to observe the autopsy of the body of a woman whose remains were discovered on Friday, Jan. 5 in a drainage ditch in the 3000 block of Ohio 309 across the roadway from the Marion Industrial Center. The autopsy was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

“I’m hoping to have more answers in the next several hours,” Rittenour said Saturday morning during the telephone interview.

Rittenour said based on preliminary findings, investigators have not been able to determine whether the woman was the victim of foul play or how long her body had been in the drainage ditch prior to it being discovered on Friday. He said local investigators hope to have that information provided following the autopsy.

At this point, Rittenour said that investigators are checking to see if the deceased woman matches any active or past missing persons reports.

“We have checked our own reports in Marion County as well as with surrounding counties and there are no active missing persons cases that match up to (the body that was found),” Rittenour said.

Rittenour said the woman’s remains were discovered by a worker who was installing posts in a field across the street from the industrial center. That individual called the Marion County Combined Dispatch Center at 4:30 p.m. on Friday to report what he had found. Deputies from the sheriff’s office said when they arrived on scene, they found the woman’s body partially submerged in shallow water in a drainage ditch that runs between two fields on the north side of Ohio 309.

“The body was found several hundred feet off of the roadway,” Rittenour explained. “The water was only several inches deep so the body was clearly visible.”

Rittenour told Marion County Now that deputies from the sheriff’s office were still on site on Saturday morning, searching for evidence in the area where the woman’s body was found.

“It’s still an active scene. I’ve got deputies out there (as of Saturday morning) doing a grid search for further evidence,” Rittenour said. “We had deputies there all night (Friday into Saturday) securing the scene. It’s still an active investigation.”

Rittenour said anyone who has information about this case should contact the Marion County Sheriff’s Office at 740-382-8244.

Update from Andrew Carter

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office has released the identity of the deceased woman whose remains were found last Friday in a drainage ditch along Ohio 309 (Harding Highway East).

According to an updated press release issued Monday by the sheriff’s office, the deceased woman was identified as Darcy Hooper, age 40, of South Fulton, Tennessee. Capt. Ken Rittenour said investigators with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation matched fingerprints the Lucas County Coroner’s Office retrieved from her body to make a positive identification of Hooper.

Rittenour said investigators have not determined if Hooper had any ties to Marion County or surrounding communities. He said her daughter who lives in Tennessee has been contacted. Rittenour said the investigation will remain active and ongoing, stating, “Now the hard work begins.”

Rittenour said based on preliminary findings, investigators have not been able to determine whether Hooper was the victim of foul play or how long her body had been in the drainage ditch prior to it being discovered on Friday. No other information has been made available.

Rittenour said Hooper’s remains were discovered on Friday, Jan. 5 in a drainage ditch in the 3000 block of Ohio 309 (Harding Highway East) across the roadway from the Marion Industrial Center. A worker who was installing posts in a field across the street from the industrial center found her body and called the Marion County Combined Dispatch Center at 4:30 p.m. on Friday to report what he had found.

Deputies from the sheriff’s office said when they arrived on scene, they found the woman’s body partially submerged in shallow water in a drainage ditch that runs between two fields on the north side of Ohio 309 (Harding Highway East).

“The body was found several hundred feet off of the roadway,” Rittenour explained. “The water was only several inches deep so the body was clearly visible.”

The Lucas County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy of Hooper’s body on Saturday and was able to retrieve the fingerprints that led to her identification, Rittenour said.

Rittenour said anyone who has information about this case should contact the Marion County Sheriff’s Office at 740-382-8244.