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Sandra Yi ReportingDet. Dwayne Baird: "He passed an object in the roadway. He wasn't sure what it was, so he made a u-turn and came back, discovered it was a body lying in the roadway."
That discovery by a motorist started a murder investigation. The body had been dumped on a dirt road west of Salt Lake City.
The body was found on 7200 West, near I-80. It was in a very remote area, not a lot of traffic there. So chances are no one heard or saw anything. A man, driving down the dirt road after missing his exit on I-80 found the victim's body.
Sgt. Bryce Johnson, Salt Lake City Police Dept.: “He got a little scared, drove home, didn’t have a cell phone apparently, and called us.”
Now Salt Lake City Police have a murder mystery on their hands.
Det. Dwayne Baird, Salt Lake City Police Dept.: “We are still trying to piece together what he’d been doing the last 12 to 24 hours of his life.”
Police hope that will give them some answers. The victim is 31-year old Salvador Rosalas-Meza. Police say he's a known drug dealer. He had been shot several times, and investigators believe the motive may have been drug related.
Det. Dwayne Baird: "He's got some convictions of drug dealing here in the area. Other than that, we don't know a lot about him."
Police are trying to figure it out. They're also looking into a possible connection with another shooting last month near Saltair.
911 Tape: "Highway patrol emergency. Hi, there's a man walking in the middle of the highway eastbound at about mile marker 107."
A motorist found that victim -- 26-year old Greg Kummer -- staggering along I-80. He survived, but the person who shot him is still out there.
Det. Dwayne Baird: "We're not certain whether it's the same case or same type of situation. We'll be following up on that as well, but at this point, there's no direct indication that the two cases are related."
Police say there's evidence Rosalas-Meza was shot at the scene. They say his body may have been out there a few hours before it was found. Police have no suspects, but are following leads in this case.
