Officials have ruled that a Des Moines man, found dead on the side of a road, was murdered.

Story County Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald said Juan Emilio Baires, 21, died from a “single gunshot wound to the head.”

Baires was shot in the side of the head.

Fitzgerald said the range at which the shot was fired is not known.

Officials said they’re “not giving out details about” the amount of time the body was on the side of the road.

Baires was found by two Department of Transportation workers near the 122 mile marker of Interstate 35 Monday at approximately 4 p.m.

The workers were mowing the east ditch on the northbound side of the interstate.

The workers’ names are not being released.

Capt. Gary Foster, Story County Sheriff’s Office, said there was no car at the scene.

It is not known if Baires was killed where his body was found, or if he was killed elsewhere and then transported to the ditch.

“Hopefully we will have a clearer picture as the investigation goes on,” Foster said.

Fitzgerald said it is not yet known when Baires was last seen or how long his body was in the ditch.

“We have three detectives in Des Moines interviewing a few witnesses and relatives,” he said. “Hopefully that will give us a time frame [as to when Baires was killed].”

Fitzgerald said there are “no hot suspects” yet, but they have “some good leads.”

“It will take a few days to get caught up to where we need to be,” he said

Foster said he doesn’t have any doubts about the sheriff’s office’s capability to crack the case.

“We’re still optimistic about being able to solve the case in a timely manner,” he said.

Anyone with information concerning activity near the scene is asked to contact the Story County Sheriff’s Office.