Why was she there and how did she die?

Ironton police are looking for the answers to those and other questions as they investigate the death of a woman whose body was discovered Saturday.

A resident found the woman's body lying in the middle of an access road on the river side of the floodwall along South First Street near the former Buckeye Flea Market.

The identity of the woman, described as an Ironton resident in her 30s, was not released late Saturday since all of her family has not been notified, Ironton police detective Jim Carey said.

"We can't say how long she has been here," Carey said. "She had been with family members to a local bar (JAB Lounge) and had left there and was going to another bar down the street (Casey's). As far as we know she never made it there."

Carey said the woman was last seen walking along Third Street near the Eagles Club. The last time her family heard from her was approximately 4 a.m. when she had contacted a family member.

The woman's body was found face down on the ground, with dirt covering her back, hair and the back of her pants. Her shirt appeared to have been torn or ripped off her body. One of her boots was found removed from her foot and lying next to her her head.

The body has been sent to the Franklin County Medical Examiners Office for an autopsy.

Family members and friends visited the area where the body was found Saturday afternoon and sat together, crying, several yards away from where the body lay, a section of floodwall roped off by police tape. None of the family members would comment on the woman's identity or how she might have died.

Further down the floodwall, children played while adults watched the stream of police cars entering and leaving the area.

Kenny Delawder and Mike Short live on South First Street. They described the thought of a body being found near their homes as "scary."

"That's too close to home," Short said. "I've lived here all my life and we've never had anything like that happen here."

Neither said they heard or saw anything that might indicate what had happened to the woman.