[Southsider2k12]

https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/news...nty/9484395002/

Investigators in LaPorte County are asking for help from the public to solve a couple of mysteries stemming from a fatal hit-and-run crash.

A commuter found a man lying in the road at about 6:30 a.m. Monday on U.S. 12 near Martin Luther King Drive on the northeast side of Michigan City.

Emergency responders came and found the man was dead.

They found an ID in the man's pocket naming him as 66-year-old Roger Manrique. The ID listed an address in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He also had a train ticket from Chicago to Niles in his pocket.

LaPorte County Coroner Lynn Swanson said efforts to find Manrique's next of kin have stalled. She asks anyone with information about Manrique's family to come forward.

Also, Michigan City Police Sgt. Steve Forker said the case is viewed as a hit and run but declined to offer specifics about the case because of the ongoing investigation.

But police are hoping someone will come forward who may have witnessed the incident or have video or other information.

Swanson said Manrique appeared to have been pushing a shopping cart at the time he was hit, based on the debris strewn over a wide area around him.

She does not believe he died long before he was found at 6:30 a.m., based on the warmth his body still retained when emergency responders touched him.

She said the cart belonged to Barney’s, a supermarket in New Buffalo, about 10 miles from the crash site.