A body found Saturday in Whitestown was identified as Adam Howard, 42, of Indianapolis, Boone County officials said. The Boone County Sheriff's Office said the discovery was made in the 7000 block of South Indianapolis Road and that the death is under investigation.
A WTHR report citing the Boone County Sheriff's Office said the Boone County Coroner's Office confirmed Howard's identity. The sheriff's office said it had notified Howard's next of kin and would release additional information as it becomes available.
No Known Threat to Residents, Officials Say
The sheriff's office said there is no known threat to the community in connection with the case. Officials have not released details about the circumstances of Howard's death.
The discovery site is near the former Wrecks, Inc. auto salvage yard, which has been closed for more than two decades. The roughly 100-acre property on Indianapolis Road, just west of I-65, has been the subject of redevelopment proposals, according to You Are Current. The proposals concern the site’s future and have not been linked to Howard’s death.
A Long-Vacant Junkyard With Big Development Plans
Whitestown bought the former junkyard property in 2019 for $6.5 million, according to You Are Current. The town has since considered redevelopment concepts for the long-vacant site.
Environmental Milestone and Park Plans
According to the Town of Whitestown, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management issued a Certificate of Completion for the former Wrecks site in late 2022. The town’s description of that milestone does not specify what cleanup work IDEM required. The town says Maurer Commons Park, a 14-acre park on the former Wrecks site, is currently under construction.
Those plans call for a youth sports park along with motel, housing and retail components near I-865, as noted by WTHR, with Indianapolis-based Milhaus partnering with Kansas City-based Homefield as developers on the project. The proposal has been described as involving at least $135 million in investment. It remains unclear whether the redevelopment has any connection to the area where Howard's body was discovered.
The sheriff's office has not released further details about how Howard died or what led investigators to the scene. The investigation remains active.
