28-year-old woman found dead in Olmsted County

OLMSTED COUNTY, Minn. (KTTC) – The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office and Rochester Police Department held a news conference Wednesday at the Rochester Government Center regarding a dead body found in Olmsted County.

According to officials, the body of 28-year-old Tia Mercedes Arleth was found on Friday, June 17 at 5:51 p.m. in the area of County Road 2 and 70th Ave. NE.

A man was mowing tall grass in the rural area when he saw what appeared to be a tarp with a human arm sticking out from under. He contacted law enforcement immediately.

Upon arrival deputies confirmed it was a dead body. Deputies established a perimeter and Sheriff’s Office officials arrived to the scene.

The condition of the body made it very difficult to determine the identity of Arleth.

Rochester Police Department investigators provided two open missing persons cases they were working on to contribute to the investigation of the identity.

The Sheriff’s Office requested the assistance of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) who arrived on scene and began investigative methods to determine the identity.

The autopsy came back on Monday, June 20. At that time, the identity was still unknown.

On Tuesday, June 21 the Medical Examiners Office got partial prints and were able to identify Arleth. She was one of the persons RPD had identified as one of the two missing persons they shared with the Sheriff’s Office.

Arleth was a resident of Minneapolis with a past residency and significant history and ties to Rochester.

Arleth was reported missing to RPD on June 12 by her mother. She was last seen in the Rochester area on May 30.

The location and condition Arleth was found are considered suspicious in nature. The Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for any information that may help with the investigation.

There were some personal belongings there on the scene but nothing indicating her identity.

Police do not believe the public is in any danger.

Watch the news conference below:

This is an ongoing investigation.