The state medical examiner said Friday that the cause of death cannot be determined for Little Rock businessman John Glasgow.
Missing since 2008, Glasgow's body was recovered more than three weeks ago in a remote and rugged area of Petit Jean Mountain. It was sent to the state Crime Laboratory for further investigation.
"We have mixed emotions about it," said Conway County Sheriff Mike Smith, who has led the missing person's investigation and subsequent recovery efforts. "We were hoping for something more substantial for the family in the cause of death. It is what it is, though. We have to see where we go from here."
Smith said that the case will "remain open for sure."
"We are at a standstill right now as far as an investigation and where else we can go," Smith said. "We've done the initial investigation and we will continue to investigate leads if anything else comes up or if someone comes forward with information."
Glasgow, the chief financial officer and vice president for CDI Contractors, was 45 at the time of his disappearance. He was last seen the morning of Jan. 28, 2008, leaving his Little Rock home. A tourist photo later showed that his vehicle was parked outside Mather Lodge at Petit Jean State Park.
An exhaustive search at the time of the 2,700-acre state park did not result in any clues. The missing persons case remained unsolved for seven years until hikers discovered a skull March 11 and alerted authorities.
A sweeping recovery effort by law enforcement personnel to locate the rest of the remains resulted in the March 17 discovery of Glasgow's clothed body -- along with a wallet containing a driver's license and credit card -- on a shelf of rock about 200 yards south of where the skull was found near Red Bluff Drive.
Glasgow's brother, Roger Glasgow, said at a family news conference last month that he believes his brother's death was the result of foul play.
Tensions were reportedly high prior to his disappearance between John Glasgow and executives of Dillard's Inc., which owned 50 percent of the construction company CDI Contractors at the time. John Glasgow -- who was in negotiations along with other CDI executives to purchase the half of the company that had become available after the death of the company's co-founder, Bill Clark -- was said to have been distraught at the time.
Smith said he has been in contact with the family and that they asked that their privacy be respected as they grieve.
State Desk on 04/11/2015