Police have identified the man found dead Sunday morning in the backyard of a Rapid City residence as Dennis Russell Janis, 33, of Rapid City.

Officers responded to a report shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday that there was a dead person in the backyard of a residence on the 900 block of Dilger Avenue.

A passerby found the body and alerted law enforcement.

Lt. David Walton said the death is being investigated as a homicide but authorities would not say how Janis died.

Walton said preliminary autopsy results did not reveal a cause of death.

The homicide is being investigated by the Rapid City Police Department and the Pennington County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities said the death was not rally-related.

Contact Katie Brown at 394-8318 or katie.brown@rapidcityjournal.com