Workers at an Iowa grocery store were shocked to find the body of Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada behind a stack of shelves nearly a decade after he went missing. Murillo-Moncada was reported missing by his parents on November 28, 2009, after running away from home upset. Despite extensive searches involving family, law enforcement, and even immigration authorities, no trace of him was found until January 2019.
Murillo-Moncada, who was 25 when he disappeared, was employed at the No Frills Supermarket in Council Bluffs. During renovations, workers discovered his remains in a gap between a cooler and a wall. Investigators believe he climbed into the space and became trapped after falling. The noise from the coolers likely drowned out any calls for help, and he was unable to escape. The supermarket had closed in 2016, leaving his body undiscovered for years.
Identified through his parents’ DNA, Murillo-Moncada was found wearing the clothes he had on when he vanished. An autopsy revealed no signs of trauma, leading authorities to rule his death as accidental. His mother had always suspected he never left the store, though it remains unclear why.
This tragic discovery highlights the distressing reality of missing persons cases and the unique circumstances that sometimes surround them. The finding of Murillo-Moncada’s body brought a grim closure to his family, ending years of uncertainty about his fate.
