Nobel winner found wandering on road near car containing wife’s dead body

US police are investigating the death of the wife of a Japanese Nobel Prize-winning chemist after her body was discovered at a landfill site in Illinois.

Ei-ichi Negishi and his wife, Sumire, were reported missing on Monday. Ei-ichi was found by police early the next day wandering along a rural Illinois road about 200 miles from the couple’s home in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he is a professor at Purdue University.

After taking him to hospital, deputies found Sumire’s body in her car at a nearby rubbish dump, according to the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office.

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Police have said they do not suspect foul play. According to Ei-ichi’s family, Sumire was “near the end of her battle with Parkinson’s”. In a statement released to media, they said that they believe he was “trying to get to the airport for a trip”.

The Orchard Hills Landfill, where Sumire was found, is about eight miles (12km) from Chicago Rockford International Airport, the BBC reports.

"We are very proud of his distinguished career, but more importantly know him as a beloved and loyal husband, father and grandfather,” the family said. “Thank you for your compassion and for respecting our privacy as we process this tragic loss."

Ei-ichi Negishi was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2010 for his work in palladium-catalysed cross coupling to link carbon atoms and synthesise molecules.