KNAPP CREEK, N.Y. — Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office investigators returned Wednesday morning to the scenic overlook off Route 16 South where homicide victim Otis Lamont Parks’ body was found in early August.

While they’re still following leads, Sheriff Tim Whitcomb said he’s eyeing a “successful closure sometime in the near future.” Parks’ killer has yet to be apprehended and a motive hasn’t been determined, he added.

Parks, 54 — who was also known as Lamont Clemons of Olean — was shot and killed, police said. His body was found Aug. 8 down the embankment of the scenic overlook in the town of Allegany hamlet of Knapp Creek. Authorities publicly identified his body and ruled the death a homicide on Aug. 12.

His uncle Walter Peterson, of 659 Seneca Ave. in Olean, with whom the deceased had lived for about the last three years, said he last saw Parks alive the evening of Aug. 7.

Officers again combed the scenic overlook from approximately 8 to 10 a.m. Wednesday, Whitcomb said. In the early afternoon, two investigators in a new Sheriff’s Office truck were slowly canvassing Route 16’s north- and southbound shoulders along a roughly mile-long stretch from where Parks was found. They would not disclose the subject of their search.

“I can tell you we’re very optimistic about it,” Whitcomb said. “We were there today following up on some of the direction that the case is leading us to.

“We’re working very close with the district attorney’s office. Procedurally, there are some things we need to tie up before we move forward … Keep your seatbelt on. Good news is coming.”

The Sheriff’s Office has not disclosed the make and model of the firearm that was used in the killing. Investigators also haven’t stated if Parks was killed at the overlook or if he was shot at another location and dumped down the embankment. They also haven’t indicated how many times he was shot.

“Those are questions we like to keep confidential until we’ve exhausted them,” Sheriff’s Capt. Robert Yehl said in an earlier phone interview. “We use those questions in the interview process. We can use those and sometimes catch people lying.”