A contract employee died in an apparent industrial accident Thursday at Lifeline Foods, the chief executive officer of the food-processing company confirmed.

Christopher Caraway, 36, who worked for IHP Industrial, was on the roof of the Lifeline building at the time of the accident, St. Joseph police said. It was believed the accident happened sometime between 4:30 p.m., when Mr. Caraway was last seen by another worker, and 9 p.m., when the body was discovered.

St. Joseph police were called to the scene and found Mr. Caraway, of Stewartsville, lying on the roof of the building near a condenser unit he had been working on earlier in the day. Paramedics on the scene checked Mr. Caraway and confirmed that he was deceased.

An autopsy was ordered to determine cause of death, but St. Joseph police said the preliminary investigation indicates it was a workplace accident. Representatives of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration were at the Lifeline facility Friday to investigate.

"We want all the facts," said Bert Farrish, CEO of Lifeline. "It will take awhile."

Lifeline employs about 130 people in a facility that makes corn-based food products, such as chips and tortillas, and ethanol. The company is located in the old Quaker Oats building at 2811 N. 11th St.