Body found stuck in store pillar may belong to fugitive

Authorities say a body found wedged inside a pillar near the entrance to a Lancaster grocery store may be that of a man who vanished last week as sheriff’s deputies were chasing him.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. John Corina says the body was found Saturday afternoon in the high-desert city 70 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Store employees began investigating after smelling a foul odor.

Corina says authorities are attempting to determine if the body is that of a man who disappeared July 6 during a police pursuit.

After crashing his car the man ran to the market where he was last seen on the roof.

Authorities now believe he may have tried to climb down through the column and either got trapped or fell to his death.