The Millcreek County Police Department is investigating missing person reports to help identify a person. A badly decomposed body was found Thursday in Walnut Creek near Millcreek Mall.

The body was found near the north end of the mall parking lot, near Walnut Creek, which runs behind Elevate Church. A fisherman said he noticed the body around 10:30 a.m. while walking along the creek in search of steelhead.

On Friday, Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook was conducting the autopsy and told the Times-News it would take some time because the body was so badly decomposed. The autopsy was scheduled to be completed late Friday.

Cook could not yet confirm the gender of the victim when he spoke to the Times-News on Friday afternoon.

Det. Mike Inman told the Times-News there have been no new developments in the case since the body was found.

Contact Nicholas Sorensen at [email protected].

This article first appeared in the Erie Times-News: An autopsy is being performed on the body found in the creek near Millcreek Mall