St. Louis police release tattoo images in hopes of ID'ing body found in Mississippi River

ST. LOUIS • Police hoping to identify a man found dead last week in the Mississippi River have released images showing the man’s tattoos.

The images were released Tuesday in the hopes someone would recognize the distinctive tattoos.

His badly decomposed body had been snagged on a barge and in heavy debris off East Krauss Street near South Broadway, authorities said. It was recovered Sept. 16.

An autopsy revealed the man had been shot in the abdomen and chest, authorities said. The city medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. 

The man was described as white and 5 feet 9, with numerous tattoos and at least seven silver fillings in his teeth, authorities said. The tattoos include several faces, a bearded figure and a symbol inside a mouth with large teeth.

When found, he was wearing a tan Ralph Lauren-brand polo shirt, black Dickie-brand slacks, a black, woven leather belt and black Gilden-brand underwear.

So far, authorities have found no matches between the man’s description and reports of missing people.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477. 

St. Louis police release tattoo images in hopes of ID"ing body found in Mississippi River