Human Remains Found in Marion County UPDATE:

Joe Lyons • January 8, 2024

UPDATE: The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has positively identified the victim in this case through fingerprint analysis. The victim has been identified as 40-year-old Darcy Hooper of South Fulton, Tennessee.

Investigation into this matter is on-going.

At 4:30pm on January 5. 2024, the Marion County Central Dispatch Center received a 911 call from a citizen reporting that a possible deceased female was located in a drainage ditch in the 3000 block of Harding Highway East in Marion County.

Upon the arrival of deputies from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, it was confirmed that the female was deceased and was laying, partially submerged, in a drainage ditch. The remains were partially decomposed and could not be immediately identified.

The victim’s body will be sent to the Lucas County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death and assistance with her identification.

Sheriff Bayles would like to thank Ohio BCI, the First Consolidated Fire Department, the Marion County Coroner’s Office and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance in this case.

Investigation is ongoing and anyone with any information pertaining to this matter may contact Captain Ken Rittenour of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office at 740-382-8244.