Coroner confirms body found in Dupo is missing Wood River man. Family wants justice.
The St. Clair County Coroner confirmed that a body found in Dupo is that a of 33-year-old Wood River man who had been missing since May 25.
Eric Grindstaff had last been seen moving furniture from his grandmother’s Wood River home to his new residence in Dupo. A month later, police discovered a decomposing body believed to male on a property near the 400 block Elm Avenue.
Dupo Police Chief Dennis Plew said Monday he would not confirm that the body had been positively identified as Grindstaff’s, pending additional forensic information. But Kimberly Meyer, Grindstaff’s mother, said she was notified on June 23 that her son had been found dead.
Meyer said the identification was made by a paw print tattoo on Grindstaff’s chest and confirmed through dental records.
Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. said an autopsy has been performed and investigators are awaiting information with hopes it will help them determine the cause and time of death.
Grindstaff had been using drugs on and off for about 15 years, said Meyer, who fears her son’s addictions may have played a role in his death.
“Even though he had a drug problem, his life should not have been taken from him. No one has the right to take another life,” Meyer said. “I want justice for my son.”
Meyer said she learned on Facebook of Grindstaff’s plan to move in with a friend at 4016 Elm Avenue in Dupo. When she went there to look for her son on June 22 — a month after he went missing — the owner told her he didn’t know him, she said.
Grindstaff’s grandmother, Linda Ross, last saw him between 9:30 and 10 a.m. on May 25. She said he came to her house to pick up furniture and other items he had stored in her shed.
Ross said he loaded his belongings into a van with the help of others she that presumed to be his friends.
Grindstaff was in the front passenger seat of another vehicle as they pulled away from her house, Ross said.
“Eric was a good person,” she said. “Although he took drugs, he never sold them. He was always broke. He would get his unemployment check and two days later he would be at my door because he was hungry.
“He didn’t deserve what happened. I will miss his smile for sure.”
Waiting for information has been difficult for the family, Meyer said. In the meantime, she is pleading with anyone who may know what happened to her son to contact police.
”He didn’t deserve to die this way. He was over-friendly, outgoing and would give you the shirt off his back,” she said.
Dupo Police can be reached by calling 618-286-4884.
Said Ross: “Our family needs closure. We want the police to find whoever is responsible for Eric’s death and arrest them; they need to be in jail.
“Eric should not have been taken away from us the way he was.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 4:59 PM.
