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Woman's body mistaken for dead deer

CLEVELAND, April 8 (UPI) -- Two Cleveland police officers drove past the body of a woman dumped beside a highway and did not stop, believing it was a deer carcass, officials say.

A motorist had reported seeing the body early Monday morning on Interstate 90. But Matthew Prince and David Muniz, who drove past at about 40 mph to 50 mph, decided it was a deer carcass and called the Ohio Department of Transportation for removal, The Cleveland Plain Dealer said.

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An ODOT employee called police about 90 minutes later -- after two more drivers reported the body -- to say that's what it was. The dead woman has been identified as Angel Bradley-Crockett, 28, who had been strangled.

Investigators believe Bradley-Crockett's boyfriend killed her and then used her mother's sport utility vehicle to dump the body. Police were searching for him.

Steve Loomis, head of the Cleveland police union, said the officers expect to be disciplined for their failure.

When the ODOT employee called the dispatcher he said it also looked like a deer to him on his first pass.

The body had been left in a fetal position with the naked back visible.

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