MADISON – The body of 39-year-old Adria J. Hatten has apparently been located.
Hatten was last seen at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 21, in Wood River, and
What appears to be her body was found close to Horseshoe Lake in a brush area.
The body was found about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, approximately 1.4 miles away from her vehicle near Big Bend Road. The case investigation is now for a suspicious death.
“This is not the outcome we had hoped for,” a representative of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office said. “With a lot of departments here, we did a lot of searching. We found an article last night, which led us in a different direction. With that new information, we modified our search.”
According to police,”everything indicates she was by herself.” Police confirmed pieces of clothing related to her and empty pill bottles were discovered through a search last Saturday. Police would not comment regarding the type of pills found, but stated they were close to her vehicle, but not her body.
Her body was identified through tattoos.
This is the latest on the situation from Capt. Mike Dixon of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office:
At 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, Madison County Sheriff’s Office Officials, being aided by the Illinois State Police Air Patrol, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the St. Clair Special Emergency Services Canine Division, and 15 members of the ILEAS Mobile Field Force located a deceased female in a secluded wooded area, inside Horseshoe Lake State Park.
Previous searches have been directed around her vehicle, but her body was located outside the usual search parameters by a fixed-wing aircraft from the Illinois State Police.
Police said the location is remote, adding there are thousands of acres of wilderness and farm fields.
The female has tentatively been identified as the previously reported missing person:
Adria Jean Hatten
White Female / 39 YOA
500 Block of Stowell Street
Alton, Illinois
The investigation into Hatten’s death is active and ongoing. An official cause of death is unknown at this point, with an autopsy pending, Capt. Dixon said.
Police are not releasing details regarding future investigations into the matter, adding “obviously, it was a suspicious death.”
While there is no immediate indication of murder at this time, police said the death is suspicious because of the location of her vehicle in a muddy field. At a press conference, police said “there is no reason to suspect foul play,” but added that my change following an autopsy.
An autopsy is scheduled to be performed Tuesday, a preliminary report may be available from a coroner’s office Tuesday afternoon, but toxicology results may take weeks.
Police are still searching for answers regarding Hatten’s disappearance, which is believed to have been some time on Sunday. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office can be reached at (618) 692-6087.
Cory Davenport also contributed to this story.
