MARION TWP, Beaver County — Authorities are investigating the death of a 25-year-old Butler County man whose body was found Thursday night in woods near his home.

The cause of death was not immediately known and investigators are releasing few details about the case.

Volunteer firefighters and other search crews found Andrew Verba’s body between 6:30 and 7 p.m. near the Beaver-Butler County line. The remains were not far from his girlfriend’s car, which he had been reportedly driving.

The discovery came just several hours after his parents called Zelienople police to report him missing, authorities said. He lived with his parents.

State police assisted in the search but they said Marion Township police are handling the investigation.

A township officer this morning declined to comment about the investigation and referred all questions to Beaver County Coroner David Gabauer.

But Gabauer also was tight-lipped. He said Verba’s body was found in a “wooded area” in Marion Township. When pressed with questions, he only replied that the investigation continues.

He would not say if an autopsy was conducted. He also would not confirm if results of standard toxicology tests were pending.

Zelienople Police Chief Jim Miller said Verba’s parents spoke to one of his officers about 2 p.m. to report their son missing.

The parents had been out of town for two weeks before they returned home and discovered him missing from their home on Hazel Street.

Verba, also known as a conscientious employee, had failed to show up for work, Miller said.

When his parents called police they already had found the car their son had been reportedly driving, Miller said. The car, which belonged to his girlfriend, turned up close to where his body would be found, just two or three miles from his home and near a window and door fabricating business.

His cell phone last pinged off a cell tower near that same location at 4:46 a.m. Tuesday, Miller said. That indicated the last time his cell phone was used.