Canon City police report that a missing person's case, reported to them on July 11, has now become a homicide investigation. The body of James G. Durgan was found in the Arkansas River, and investigators say he'd been shot.

Salida Police took the original missing person report after Durgan's wife said her husband missed a dental appointment. She said Durgan was returning home from a business trip on July 10 and had stopped in Canon City to rent a motel room for the evening.

Police say search teams found Durgan’s car, a 2002 red Saturn sedan, in a pull-out east of the Chaffee and Fremont County line.

The car was analyzed at the CBI lab in Pueblo for clues to Durgan's whereabouts.

Four days later, people kayaking the Arkansas River near Parkdale reported what they thought to be a body in the water. The El Paso County coroner later identified the body as the Durgan's through dental records. An autopsy revealed he died from a single gunshot wound.

The case is now being investigated as a homicide.

Several search warrants have been executed on a number of vehicles as part of the investigation in Salida, but authorities in Fremont County have not made any arrests in the murder.

If you have any information on this case, please call Fremont County Sheriff’s Detective Mike Jolliffe at 719-276-5615 or the Canon City Police Department at 719-276-5600.

If you would like to remain anonymous, you can call Fremont County Crime Stoppers at 719-275-STOP (7867) or the Chaffee County Crime Stoppers at (719) 539-5299. Your anonymous tip could earn you a cash reward.