Authorities are asking for help from the public in identifying a woman’s corpse found in a ditch in Steele County on Thursday morning. The request for public help came Thursday evening.

A news release from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety states a passerby found the body at 7:45 a.m. along 30th Street NW and County Road 17 about six miles northwest of Owatonna. Authorities are treating the death as suspicious.

The Steele County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are investigating the death.

They describe the woman as about 18 to 30 years of age, 5 feet to 5 feet 5 inches in height, with a weight of about 200 pounds, and considered Hispanic or African American. The release states, “She was found wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and white, patterned boxer shorts. The female has black, wavy, shoulder-length hair with brown tinting.”

The Dakota County coroner will conduct an autopsy, the release states.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Steele County Sheriff’s Office at either (866) 878-7964 or (507) 451-8232.