XENIA, Greene County — Homicide detectives spent the weekend looking for a crime scene involving a 35-year-old Costa Rican whose body was dumped in a ditch along South Alpha Bellbrook Road in Beavercreek Twp.

A passing motorist spotted the body of Wilber Gamboa Naranjo around 9:30 p.m., Greene County Sheriff’s Capt. Eric Spicer. The captain said detectives found Naranjo’s expired passport at the scene.

Spicer said Monday that the investigation was in its early stages and was reluctant to disclose any details other than Naranjo suffered a “violent death.”

According to Spicer, Naranjo had been in and out of the U.S. during the past five years, was engaged to a Xenia woman and had a job in sales and project management with a Xenia contractor. Spicer did not know how long Naranjo had been in the Xenia area.

Detectives were awaiting word from federal immigration officials on Naranjo’s status and when and where he entered and exited the country.

A motive for the slaying also is unclear.

Naranjo “may have associates who might have led to his death. This was not a random crime. He may have gotten into a car with someone who had a personal grudge,” Spicer said.

Investigators were struggling to reach people who knew him, Spicer said. They are interviewing contacts, some fluent only in Spanish, and searching for any acquaintances, Spicer said.

“It’s difficult to penetrate those circles,” he said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2290 or dpage@DaytonDailyNews.com.