A Canton man who went missing earlier this week was found dead Wednesday in rural Fulton County.
Kenneth Johnson, 59, was found dead in a wooden area in rural Lewistown at 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to Fulton County Sheriff Jon Webb. Johnson had been declared missing Tuesday after he had not been heard from since 5 p.m. Monday.
The sheriff’s office said that a ground search was conducted for Johnson on both Tuesday and Wednesday. His body was found 500 yards north of where his vehicle was found Tuesday night along Vernon Road near Webb Road in rural Lewistown. Fulton County Coroner Austin Rhodes identified the body as belonging to Johnson, with an autopsy conducted Wednesday in Peoria County.
No foul play is suspected, and a state-required toxicology report is currently being conducted.
According to the sheriff’s office, Johnson had been looking to do some mushrooming – the act of searching for mushrooms – but hadn’t been heard from since 5 p.m. Monday afternoon. A report was filed Tuesday, with deputies looking to ping the last known location of Johnson’s phone.
That proved to be an area west of Canton near Smithfield, but authorities were unable to locate him until 9:50 p.m. Tuesday, when a citizen called in to notify them that they had found an abandoned vehicle near Vernon and Webb roads.
Deputies responded to the scene and found the abandoned vehicle, identifying it as belonging to Johnson. A ground search began in the area throughout the night without success, restarting Wednesday morning and ending when his body was found.
The coroner’s office and the sheriff’s office are continuing to investigate what led to Johnson’s death.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Missing Canton man found dead in rural Fulton County
Reporting by Zach Roth, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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