COLD CASE: Man missing for 10 years found behind grocery store freezer

The remains of Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada, from the United States, were found behind a grocery store freezer 10 years after he was last seen. Image: Council Bluffs Police Department

COLD CASE: Man missing for 10 years found behind grocery store freezer

Cold case closed! A man that disappeared without a trace 10 years ago was finally found. But it’s a little bizarre…

COLD CASE: Man missing for 10 years found behind grocery store freezer

The remains of Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada, from the United States, were found behind a grocery store freezer 10 years after he was last seen. Image: Council Bluffs Police Department

A cold case was recently closed after the remains of a man who mysteriously vanished 10 years ago were found behind a grocery freezer.

It is believed that the man somehow got stuck behind a storage freezer in the grocery store where he was employed.

COLD CASE CLOSED AFTER 10 YEARS

After 25-year-old Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada vanished without a trace, police were stumped.

Ten years after his disappearance it was still a cold case. Up until contractors made a somewhat gruesome discovery in the former supermarket he used to work at.

The contractors were removing fittings and tearing apart freezer units in the former No Frills Supermarket in Council Bluffs, in the United States, in January of this year. The supermarket closed down three years prior, according to MailOnline.

Upon them removing the freezers, they discovered the remains of an unknown man and alerted the police.

Authorities at the time said it appeared the body had been there for a lengthy period of time and Council Bluffs police sergeant Brandon Danielson told the Des Moines Register that the missing Murillo-Moncada immediately came to his mind when the remains were found, reports MailOnline. 

The deceased’s parent’s DNA was used to confirm his identity. His clothes also matched the description of his attire at the time of his disappearance.

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WHAT HAPPENED TO LARRY?

Murillo-Moncada’s parents reported their son missing after he “became upset and ran out of their home”. They told police at the time that he was acting irrationally, possibly because of medication he was taking, Council Bluffs Police Captain Todd Weddum told CNN.

It is believed that Murillo-Moncada went to the supermarket after storming out of his parent’s house. He allegedly climbed on top of freezers used to store merchandise in a storeroom area often used by employees who take unofficial breaks.

MailOnline reports that it is believed that he fell into18 inch (about 45cm) gap between the freezers and the back wall where he got trapped.

Former employees at the supermarket reportedly told police that it was not uncommon for staff to climb on top of the freezers because the space was often used as storage. 

Terrible smell…

Danielson told MailOnline that the sound of the freezers could have drowned out any cries for help. “It’s so loud there’s probably no way anyone heard him,” he said.

Numerous former shoppers have allegedly since said they could always smell something terrible when they were inside the store.  

Police have now closed the cold case investigation.  

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