An autopsy is due today on the body of a young man found drowned in the Scioto River of Columbus Ohio on Tuesday.
The Columbus Division Police Dive Team extricated the corpse from floating debris yesterday afternoon in the vicinity of the Scioto Audubon Metro Park near Interstate-71 and Greenlawn Ave.
It was then delivered to the Franklin County Coroner's Office for medical examination.
At present the victim's identity is still unknown, but homicide detectives said they're poring over several outstanding missing persons reports for a possible connection.
A department spokesman said the unidentified young male was found fully-clothed and that his body was in "pretty good condition," suggesting that it hadn't been in the river for very long.
“We have a male in his twenties and we don’t know why he died,” he also stated. The death is therefore being treated as "suspicious" pending further investigation.
Joey LaBute mysteriously went missing from a downtown Columbus restaurant earlier this month.
The 26-year-old has not been seen or heard from ever since that night.
2:22 PM UPDATE: Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz says he will have to resort to comparing dental records in order to ID the youth found drowned in Ohio's Scioto River yesterday, since fingerprints are no longer "available."
ReplyDeleteAs a formal identification and autopsy progresses today, homicide detectives continue to probe the circumstances of the victim's death. There were reportedly "no signs of trauma" on his corpse, they said.
An Ohio police spokesman has additionally disclosed that the Scioto waterway, and others in the Columbus area, had been repeatedly searched in recent weeks, at the urging of the Special Victims Bureau. So, "given the location" where divers discovered the body Tuesday afternoon, the case has tentatively been labeled "suspicious" until more facts are known.
E.R.
Multiple drowning / disappearances in Columbus, Ohio. IMO the disappearances and the bodies found point to someone being responsible (murder). Unsettling to hear another body surfaced. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, C, and thanks for your input. There is a lot of online speculation this week that Joey LaBute's sexuality is somehow linked to his sudden disappearance, but the fact remains that his suspicious missing persons case closely resembles scores of other young men's -- nationally and internationally -- who hail from all walks of life and races.
ReplyDeleteBTW: An ID of the 20-something, fully clothed, Caucasian male found drowned this week in the Scioto River near Columbus Ohio hasn't been released yet.
E.R.
I read the sexuality playing a part too but I really doubt that. He fits the profile perfectly. Young, up and coming, area searched prior to finding him, leaves an establishment and just vanishes. Could it be a jealous, jilted lover. Maybe. One that used the SFK modus operandi to a tee, even less of a maybe IMO.
ReplyDeleteJust read the bouncer theory. Not sure what I think but I'm certainly open minded on all possibilities.
ReplyDelete