Body of 21-year-old Lexington woman found along Indiana interstate

The body of a 21-year-old Lexington woman was found along Interstate 65 in Indiana this week.

Police in Columbus, Ind., on Saturday said they had confirmed the woman’s identity as Araceli Jaimes Macedo.

Macedo’s body was found Monday evening near mile marker 64.5, on the shoulder of the northbound lanes, police said.

Police said they are still investigating the death. Anyone with information was asked to call the Columbus Police Department at 812-376-2600.

It took several days for police to determine Macedo’s identity.

The Republic newspaper in Columbus published photos of her tattoos earlier in the week, after police released the images in hopes of generating leads.

The newspaper reported Thursday that the coroner had determined that she died from “blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen,” but the manner of death was still under investigation.

Police told the newspaper that they were considering several possibilities about how she came to be lying on the rumble strip along the side of the interstate, including that she might have been “walking on the interstate or dropped off there.” No vehicle was found near the body.