Hiker finds body in Ermelo woods

A hiker and his dog found a body in the woods near Ermelo on Thursday afternoon. The body had been there for some time. The cause of death is still unclear, but in such cases, the police assume a crime, officer Ruud van Nieuwenhuizen said to De Gelderlander.

The body is in an advance stage of decomposition, making it harder to determine the cause of death or even the identity of the victim. "The body has been in the woods for a long time. It's probably a man, considering the clothes", Van Nieuwenhuizen said to the newspaper.

The hiker found the body around 3:30 p.m. after his dog ran into the woods. The body was next to a path, about half a kilo from Ericalaan and over 200 meters from Putterweg, near Oude Arnhemse Karweg, according to the newspaper. It is an unpaved road that cars can use.

The body was taken away around 6:00 p.m. The police cordoned off the scene with crime scene tape. According to Van Nieuwenhuizen, no attempt was made to hide the body. The police are performing trace evidence investigations on the body and in the woods.