Police identify body found Friday in Vernon

Vernon - County law enforcement officials said that John Mitchell, 30, of Saylorsburg, Pa., whose body was found last Friday afternoon on Lake Wallkill Road, was murdered. Sussex County Road Department employees discovered the body of a white male. On Monday, the Sussex County Prosecutor’s office said that an autopsy performed Friday night had determined that the man had been murdered by asphyxiation. It also released the identification of the victim, which was made through the assistance of the I-AFIS Unit of the New Jersey State Police through fingerprints. The investigation into the death is being conducted by the Vernon Township Police Department and the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, with the assistance of the New Jersey State Police, as well as other law enforcement agencies. The Vernon Township Police Detective Unit is asking for anyone who may have seen an unusual vehicle or activity in the week preceding June 16 on Lake Wallkill Road (County Route 667) to call the Vernon Township Police Department at 973-764-6155.