MONTEREY — Finding the killer of a 63-year-old Monterey man is top priority for the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office, said investigators Tuesday as they tracked down leads and searched for evidence.

John Perritt was found dead at his Eloise Road house in Monterey at approximately 11:30 a.m. Monday where his body had apparently been for some time, CPSO Chief Deputy David Hedrick said.

A friend was grading a road near the house, Hedrick said, and called police after the man smelled something foul and saw a blanket with a foot sticking out.

The decomposition of Perritt’s body required an autopsy to be performed by the Louisiana Forensics Center in Lafayette to help determine an exact identification, Hedrick said.

Further details of the case, including Perritt’s cause of death, could not yet be released for fear it would endanger the remainder of the investigation, Hedrick said.

The sheriff’s office is treating the case as a homicide, and Hedrick said significant process was made Tuesday afternoon in the recovery of Perritt’s vehicle.

An alert was issued Tuesday morning on a 2014 black Ford Fusion that police believed was a point of interest in the investigation.

Hedrick later revealed the Fusion was Perritt’s car and that Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputies in Natchez recovered it late Tuesday.

The ACSO was processing the car Tuesday evening for any potential fingerprints, DNA and blood samples. Hedrick said investigators would collect all evidence from the vehicle today.

Concordia Parish Sheriff Kenneth Hedrick said increased patrols were ordered in the Monterey area for the safety of residents until a suspect in the case is identified and apprehended.

Anyone with knowledge of the crime is encouraged to contact the sheriff’s office at 318-336-5231.