BURNSVILLE, Minn. - A body found near the Minnesota River over the weekend has been identified as a missing mother from Burnsville.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office has identified the woman as 41-year-old Elizabeth Perrault, who was reported missing to the Burnsville Police on Feb. 22.
The Burnsville Police say they had an active investigation into her whereabouts and they continue to investigate the circumstances of her death.
"We continue to look into the circumstances of the case and try to put the pieces together as to what happened," said Sgt. Matt Smith, of the Burnsville Police Department.
Smith said at this point, they aren't ruling anything out but would not say whether they believe foul play is involved.
According to a search warrant filed in the case, friends filed a missing persons report with the Burnsville Police on Feb. 22, saying Perrault was missing and had not been heard from since October 2017.
Smith said they do not know why Perrault's disappearance wasn't reported earlier.
Perrault had been living with a 40-year-old male acquaintance, according to those documents. He told Perrault's friends two women showed up and took Perrault to a treatment facility in Richfield. He then showed up unannounced at the home of Perrault's friend, crying uncontrollably and frantic, saying he missed Perrault. When the friend questioned him about the women who allegedly took Perrault to a treatment center, he was unable to give any descriptions of the women and eventually stopped answering questions and broke off communication.
On Feb. 28, Burnsville Police detectives went to the home of Perrault, which was considered abandoned since Jan. 31, and found a large dark spot in the bedroom, which tested positive for blood.
The carpeting was removed and a large stain was also found on the padding, which also tested positive for blood.
Authorities say in the search warrant that Perrault's disappearance is "unexplained and is highly suspicious," and though she was last seen on Nov. 1, 2017, her debit card was continually used throughout the month of November.
The search warrant states on the day she was last seen, Perrault paid her rent, "looking sick and approximately 85 pounds."
Perrault's body was discovered after it had apparently washed ashore around 3:45 p.m. Sunday, in the area of Interstate 35W and Black Dog Road.
On Wednesday, officials released a statement saying the body was found encased in ice, and needed to be "defrosted" before a positive identification could be made.
Officials are asking anyone who may have information about Perrault to contact Burnsville Police Detective Jeffrey Klingfus at 952-895-4635.