Malik Jones: Missing man, 25, found dead in Missouri woods by mother and sister

MISSOURI: When the mother and sister of a missing 25-year-old man discovered his body in the woods off a Missouri road while they were out driving in search of him, a homicide investigation was opened.

Following a news release from the Boone County Sheriff's Office, Malik Jones's body was discovered on North Creasy Springs Road in Boone County on Wednesday, February 7, just before noon.

Malik Jones' was found dead in woods

Jones's mother, Shawna Patterson, told the local NBC affiliate KOMU that she and her daughter had discovered the Columbian region where investigators think Jones had driven his blue Chevrolet Malibu.

“My daughter said, ‘Mom, stop. Back up,’ and I backed up. She got out of the car, and she just immediately started screaming. I jumped out of the car and we saw Malik laying there,” Patterson said.

“It’s the hardest thing I think I’ve ever had to do in my entire life. To see my baby, my son, laying there like that.”

Neeka Smith, his sister, was devastated. "You just can't imagine it when you find your sibling the way I found my brother," she said in a Facebook video, according to local CBS affiliate KRCG.

“But I do know that he is in a better place now, and he is going to be OK.”

Police released some information

Little information has been released by the police. “We are currently investigating this case as a homicide. We’re just real limited on what information were going to put out at this time just due to the investigation," Capt Brian Leer of the Boone County Sheriff's Department stated.

"We don’t want to jeopardize anything in any way,” he further added, according to KRCG.

According to his obituary, Jones' goal was to become a music producer. He was a Los Angeles Lakers fan, played basketball, and attended church.