Ian Richardson | The Des Moines Register

Linh Ta/The Register

A man whose dead body was found at a former Council Bluffs supermarket in January has been identified as an employee who went missing 10 years ago.

Authorities on Monday said they have identified the man as Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada of Council Bluffs, who was 25 years old in November 2009, when he was reported missing.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation identified him using DNA collected from Murillo-Moncada's biological parents. An autopsy showed no signs of trauma to Murillo-Moncada, and the death has been ruled accidental.

The decomposing body was originally discovered the morning of Jan. 24 as contractors were removing freezer units from the former No Frills Supermarket, at 1817 W. Broadway, in Council Bluffs. Police at the time said the body appeared to have been there for years.

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The grocery store had been closed for about three years at the time of the discovery, Sgt. Brandon Danielson with the Council Bluffs Police Department told the Register on Monday.

Police say that Murillo-Moncada's parents reported him to be missing Nov. 28, 2009, when he became upset and ran out of their home.

"It was a snowstorm at the time," Danielson said. "He left with no shoes, no socks, no keys, no car."

Danielson said Murillo-Moncada, who worked at the supermarket at the time of his disappearance, was not scheduled to work at the time he would have entered the supermarket, and management said it was not uncommon for employees to enter and exit the store when they weren't on their shifts.

Police said former employees at the supermarket said it was common for workers to be in the space on top of the coolers, which was used for storage. Investigators believe Murillo-Moncada went into the store after leaving his home and climbed on top of the coolers, where he fell into a gap between the back of the units and the wall that measured about 18 inches and became trapped.

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It would have been about a 12-foot fall, Danielson said. And the noise of the freezer units could have made it difficult to hear any cries for help, he said.

"It's so loud, there's probably no way anyone heard him," he said.

Contractors found Murillo-Moncada while tearing the units apart, he said. Danielson, who worked the missing person case nearly a decade ago, said Murillo-Moncada was the first person who came to mind when the body was found.

Ian Richardson covers Ankeny and Altoona for the Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.