Hastings, MN (KROC-AM News)- Authorities in southeast Minnesota are investigating the discovery of a man’s body in a ditch. 

Read More: Missing Person Alert: Minnesota Man Vanishes After Fire 

A news release issued by the Hastings Police Department says officers responded to a 911 call regarding a body discovery shortly before 10:00 Sunday morning. 

Investigators believe a vehicle is involved and that the body discovery is connected to what is being described as a suspicious fire

Body Found Near Vermillion River in Hastings, MN Linked to Suspicious Fire

Police confirmed the person found was deceased upon arriving at the scene of the body discovery in the 1300 block of 10th St. The man’s body was about 150 feet east of the road’s Vermillion River crossing, the news release says. 

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His name, cause and manner of death will be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office upon completion of a preliminary autopsy and next of kin notification, the news release says. 

Investigators are asking anyone who may have seen a vehicle stopped on the side of the road in the area of the body discovery between 1 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday to contact the Hastings Police Department or Washington County Sheriff’s Office. 

Even though the man’s identity has not been released, authorities suspect the body discovery is connected to a fire that occurred on a rural property north of Hastings around 2:30 Saturday morning. Investigators say that the fire is suspicious. 

Hastings Police Department news release
Hastings Police Department news release
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Over the weekend, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension issued a statewide Missing Person Alert for a man who vanished from the scene of a fire at his own home in that area. 

Authorities suspect the missing man, identified as 74-year-old William Michael Eickholt, was injured in the fire.

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Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper - TSM Duluth

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