Death investigation underway in Benton County east of Vinton

What started out for two men as a search for a stolen truck turned into the discovery of a smashed truck. Then they discovered something much worse.

Anson Andrews and Jacob Cady told KCRG-TV9 they were looking for a truck that had been stolen Sunday. They followed tire tracks and found it, crashed, near a residence on a rural road east of Vinton. Andrews and Cady said they were waiting for assistance to retrieve the damaged truck when they noticed something else.

'We saw a blood trail and followed it up and found the gal dead and she was face down,” Andrews said, noting how horrific the discovery was to them. 'Devastating, very devastating.”

Starting around 2 p.m. Sunday, 59th St. Trail was blocked off between 32nd and 33rd avenues while authorities from the Benton County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation looked into the death.

A member of the Iowa State Patrol confirmed to KCRG-TV9 that the investigation was looking into the circumstances behind the death, but no other information was forthcoming by press time.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety is expected to issue a formal release on the incident.