Body of missing Aberdeen man found, police investigating as a homicide

The investigation into a missing Aberdeen man has turned into a homicide investigation.

Investigators with the Aberdeen Police Department found the body of Simon Deng on Thursday evening, according to a news release from the department.

Simon Deng, 40, was last seen on Oct. 23 and reported missing Oct. 27. Investigators have spent the past few weeks searching for Deng and this week arrested three people in connection to his disappearance.

Joshua Ortley, 36, of Sioux Falls; Kyle Three Legs, 38, of Aberdeen; and Cecelia Walking Bull, 32, of Aberdeen; were arrested this week. Ortley, who was arrested Monday in Sioux Falls, has been charged with felony aggravated kidnapping and felony aggravated assault with indifference to human life. Three Legs, who was arrested Wednesday in Aberdeen, has been charged with aiding and abetting aggravated kidnapping. Walking Bull is charged with felony accessory after the fact to aggravated kidnapping.

More:Three face charges in connection to missing Aberdeen man

According to earlier reports from the police department, Deng was last seen on Oct. 23 with Ortley and Three Legs.

According to a news release issued by the police department Friday, FBI investigators assisted in the recovery of Deng's body in a rural part of northeastern South Dakota and an autopsy will be conducted.

Deng's death is considered a homicide, per the release, and kidnapping charges are likely to be modified based on recommendations from the Brown County State's Attorney's Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"We would like to express our deepest sympathies to Simon's family and friends," the police said in the release. "While this was not the outcome we desired, we would like to thank the persistence of the APD investigators who worked tirelessly to bring this case to a conclusion."

Several agencies assisted the Aberdeen Police Department in this investigation, including the Brown County Sheriff's Office, Brown County Emergency Management, the Brown County State's Attorney's Office, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Aberdeen Fire & Rescue, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Sioux Falls Police Department, the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office, the Minnehaha County State's Attorney's Office, the Traverse County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota and the Sisseton Wahpeton Tribal Police.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Aberdeen missing person's case now a homicide investigation