Body found in truck

Police and EMS respond to the discovery of a deceased man found in a truck at the Rosauers/Taco Time gravel parking lot Tuesday.

A dead body was found Tuesday night in the cab of a Dodge Ram 1500 in the gravel parking lot just north of Rosauers and behind Taco Time in Colfax.

Todd Emery Nealey, 41, was found deceased when Colfax Police responded to an initial report of a male subject in a pickup who would not wake up. Susan Waltz, dispatcher with Colfax Police, said it was not clear if the reporting party was attempting to wake Nealey up.

The call came into the Colfax Police Department at 5:01 p.m. Tuesday. Deputy Coroner Annie Pillers, who was called to the scene, said reports indicated the death may have occurred earlier in the day.

“Indicators are that he died yesterday. The truck had been seen there throughout the day,” she said Wednesday morning. “Later in the evening, somebody went up to it and saw that he was non-responsive.”

A cause of death has not yet been determined, but Pillers said there is no indicator of foul play or a threat to the public.

“It's still under investigation, so we don't have a cause or manner,” she said. “Right now, indicators are that there is no public health hazard or no crime.”

Nealey's drivers license indicated his address as Couer d'Alene, Pillers said.

“His family is local,” she said. “He is from the area over time.” She noted that the family notified Tuesday night was local.

Pillers took pictures of the body at the scene before it was removed from the truck. She said she was called there around 6 p.m. and was there for about an hour. She indicated that police stayed for about 45 minutes after she left. Colfax Police, Whitman County Sheriff's Office and EMS responded. Nealey was taken to Brunings Funeral Home in Colfax.

Taco Time employees shut the blinds to the business when the body was being removed from the vehicle at the request of customers. Police had the truck blocked from view with police and ambulance vehicles.

Pillers said an investigation is ongoing and an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.

“We have all of our work to do,” she commented. “Again, there is no indication of concern to the public.”