Sheriff: man reported missing before body found

UPDATE 6/24: Callaway County Sheriff Dennis Crane has confirmed Steven Mullens was reported missing on June 20, and his body was found about three hours later.

Callaway County authorities said investigators are working with around 100 leads in the investigation.

Authorities are treating the death of Steven Mullens from Columbia as a murder. The cause of death hasn’t been released; results of an autopsy done in Columbia earlier this week are still pending.

Authorities said they don’t have the complete medical examiner’s report and that it could take four weeks before they have it.

Mullens, who was 34 when he died, was found dead in a car in Callaway County on June 20. A neighbor called in a suspicious car on the side of county road 268, and when authorities got to the scene, they found Mullens’ body inside.

The Mid-Missouri Major Case Squad has been activated to investigate the case. The activation involves 27 investigators representing 9 agencies: Audrain County Sheriff’s Office, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, the Boonville Police Department, the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbia Police Department, the Centralia Police Department, the Holt’s Summit Police Department, the Fulton Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The Major Case Squad becomes involved when a law enforcement agency needs more resources or personnel to solve a major case.