I lived in the area when the body was discovered. Here is the truth of what happened. The kid was about 19-20 and an employee of the store. It was a No Frills (think smaller grocery store more like Albertsons, or Hyvee). After they store was closed and his shift ended he went in the back and lost something behind one of those large industrial freezers. He climbed behind to try and grab it but the freezer shifted and he was pinned and crushed to death. He was not reported missing because he had previously had an argument with his parents and they assumed he ran away and cut off contact. He wasn't discovered because his body mummified rather than decomposed so the smell was less noticeable. Also, it is quite common In the area for mice to die in and around stock rooms so it's likely any smell would have been attributed to that. The entire story is actually completely tragic and was devastating for the victim's family.

What had happened was that the guy was having some mental issues (like hearing voices telling him to eat lots of sugar). During his episode, he ran away from his house went back to his grocery store where he had a job (but wasn't supposed to be working that day) and hid himself in an area above the freezers that's walled off from the shopping side. It's where workers frequently went when they wanted to slack off and not get caught by management. Either by accident or intentionally, he fell down into the tight space between the back of the freezer and the drywall and became trapped. Supposedly he was found in an upside-down position so it's possible he died when all the blood rushed to his head. The heat-exchange of the freezer units probably helped dry out the body over time (though it didn't cover up the smell for the first few months, as I mentioned in another comment) so by the time the store closed down 10 years later and the renovation crews came in to remove all the freezers, he was well-mummified.

I think the show Superstore included this into the show because they had a gag about something very similar. But much less sad, of course.

it’s like a simpsons episode in real life

Wow! How sad!! :(

Anyone who has smelled decomp is wondering how this was possible.

no one tried looking for him? they couldn't smell him? dead bodies smell horrible

How did it not stink?

I used to live in Iowa. I am now scared.

OOOOMMMMMGGGGGGGG!

Sal?

Wow! Woops! That had to smell at some point!

It must have been a built-in in walk in freezer in the receiving area. Decomposing bodies not only smell, but turn into soup...

Reminds me of the time we were deep cleaning the stock room at work and found a completely decomposed mouse skeleton. It had clearly been there a while, but since no one ever cleaned in that area, no one noticed.

Wasn't this an episode of "Superstore"?

Did his family not miss him?

The story is well known and you’ll find it quite easily

I remember hearing about this happening at a nightclub once. Not sure, but think that a would be burglar hid behind some decorations and got stuck. Was found fairly quickly, but not in time from his point of view. Has likely happened with chimneys on occasion as well. There at least the smell would not be noticable.

That is beyond horrible and sad...

Hopefully his family got a nice check for all the overtime!

Just a stupid happenstance. He went to have a smoke and fell in that crawlspace. I felt so bad for his family, cuz they worried for all that time.

They never cleaned it whole place?