Body found in Black River identified as missing PB man

A body found in Black River Sunday afternoon has been identified as a local man who was reported missing by his mother more than a month ago.

Butler County Coroner Andy Moore said the body was identified as John Bishop, 36, of Poplar Bluff.

“He had identification on him, and we were able to match tattoos from pictures” to confirm ID, Moore said.

An autopsy, he said, will be performed Wednesday morning by Dr. Russell Deidiker at Farmington.

Bishop, according to Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs, had been last talked to or heard from on March 16. He reportedly was last seen in the city.

Two days later, Dobbs said, a family member reported him missing to the Poplar Bluff Police Department.

“The mom was the reporting party, and she regularly talks to him,” Dobbs said.

Dobbs said a fisherman called just after 2:30 p.m. Sunday to report he found what he believed to be a body while boating on Black River, approximately one-half to one mile upstream from the Hargrove Road.

About an hour later, deputies and troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Marine Division retrieved the body, which was found in the middle of the river, Dobbs said.

“The body appeared to be in decomposition and had been there for several days, maybe even weeks,” Dobbs said. “… When the river went down is what made the discovery possible.”

Now that identification has been made, “we’re trying to find associates of his” and “trying to follow up on all those leads” that might come from them, Dobbs said.