Md. Police Uncover Dead Body after Radio Talk Show Caller's Revelation

A caller to the talk radio show “Elliot in the Morning” on Friday morning reported finding a body in Frederick days earlier, and agreed, at the host’s urging, to call the police, which he had not done.

The man, who would identify himself on the show only as “Joseph,” said he found a body at a campsite in Frederick.

Frederick police later confirmed in a post on Facebook that there was a body, as discussed on the show.

Police spokesperson Samantha Long said in an interview that the body was found in a wooded area close to the roundabout on East Street, between East South Street and Monocacy Boulevard.

Earlier in a message posted on Facebook, the police department described the location as “in a wooded area off Highland Street and Carroll Creek Crossing,” but Long said that turned out to be incorrect.

The man said he saw the remains 18 days before he called the show on Friday, but never called police. Elliot Segal, the host of the show, pressed the man to call police as soon as possible.

The man said he would call police “soon” and “today,” but Segal repeatedly urged him to call police right away.

The man called the show, initially saying, “About a month ago, you spoke about a professional athlete with seeing a body floating in a body of water, and you were amazed at how he could pitch that night, or shoot basketball and whatever — hit a hockey puck.”

“And I sent Diane [co-host Diane Stupar Hughes] a few pictures of me exploring nature, and look what I came upon,” Joseph told the show.

Segal responded: “Dude, you found a dead body?”

“Yes,” Joseph said.

Stupar Hughes asked Joseph if “this was the one where you were on that campsite.”

Joseph responded “Yes” and said, “That was amazing. It was — this may sound sick — but I’ve always wanted to come upon something like that, and luckily it was months old, so that was nice.”

Segal said, “Tell me — Jesus Christ — tell me you called the police.”

“Probably today,” Joseph said. “I had a dream last night that I called them. So, yeah, no, not yet.”

Segal said, “Dude, call the cops.”

Joseph eventually agreed to do so. He said he would “have [police] pick me up and I’ll drive them out to the site and let them identify [the body].”

He told Segal that the site where the body was found “was just a tent city from a year ago that got shut down.” Joseph said he assumed the death was an overdose and that the person probably died in their sleep.

“Once you see the pictures, Elliot, you’ll understand why I believe it wasn’t important to do a month ago,” Joseph said.

The Frederick police Facebook post says: “Detectives from our Criminal Investigations Division responded, located the individual, and are now conducting an active investigation. At this time, there is no threat to the public.”

Police asked anyone with information to contact Detective Nicole Smith at [email protected] or 301-600-2102.

The Frederick News-Post attempted to reach “Elliot in the Morning” on Friday afternoon, but did not receive a response.

Police spokesperson Samantha Long said police have not yet identified the body, but will share more information when they can.

She said police received multiple calls about the body, but the department would likely not say how it learned the location of the body, including if the radio show or Joseph contacted them.

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