***Updated at 10:15 a.m., Feb 12 with additional details about manner of death***

A Collinsville family is in mourning today after St. Louis police confirmed that a body found along the railroad tracks near 3000 Wharf Street in North St. Louis, near the Mississippi River, is that of missing 22-year-old Collinsville man, Joe Hartsoe.

On Monday, a person walking a dog found the body, which was so decomposed police were initially unable to identify the race or gender. The body may have also been scavenged by an unknown type of animal.

Hartsoe was last seen at relative’s home in Collinsville on Nov. 25, 2013. Hartsoe’s family had recently issued a reward for his return, alive or dead.

An autopsy was completed Tuesday, which confirmed that the body was that of Hartsoe. The family was notified Tuesday evening. The Medical Examiner ruled the manner of death a homicide and the cause of death undetermined.

St. Louis Police are in charge of the ongoing investigation. There are no known suspects, St. Louis Police said.

Hartsoe was last seen getting into a car with his roommate at the time. Multiple people had told family members that the former roommate killed Hartsoe and dumped his body in a warehouse in East St. Louis. There were also rumors that Hartsoe owed money to the former roommate, who pled guilty in federal court to crack cocaine distribution in 2009, Ashley Hartsoe, Joe’s sister, said.

The former roommate told police that he dropped Hartsoe off at a pawnshop in East St. Louis, Ashley said.  Police, at this point, have been unable to confirm that information, Detective Mark Kuechle, of the Collinsville Police Department said.