ICN file photo
UPDATE-- The drowning victim has been identified as David Overbay. 49, of Lawrenceville, Ill.
----- UPDATE from Sullivan Co. Sheriff's Office---Sheriff Clark Cottom said investigators believe the cause of death for a man found in the Wabash River is consistent with drowning. Sheriff’s Detective Ron Elliott, Conservation Officer Dustin Cary and Indiana State Police Technician Brandon Mullen attended the autopsy performed this afternoon at Terre Haute Regional Hospital. Sheriff Cottom said investigators will continue working into the evening to determine the identity of the man. Once identity has been determined, next of kin will be notified. Investigators will also continue to establish how and why the man came to be in the river. Sheriff Cottom said there were no signs of trauma to the body. ---- By Lucy Perry Indiana Central News SULLIVAN COUNTY– A Sullivan County death investigation is underway after a man's body was found in the Wabash River near Merom Wednesday evening. Sullivan County Sheriff Clark Cottom explained early this morning that the body was that of an adult white male. "The body was clothed and appeared to have been in the water less than 48 hours," he said, with no further comment on the identity of the body or the cause of death at this point in the investigation. Meanwhile, an autopsy was scheduled this afternoon at Terre Haute Regional Hospital. Cottom also requested Indiana State Police technicians to assist with identification of the body through fingerprints and DNA. According to the report, Sgt. Carl Melchert, Deputy David Holmes and Sheriff Clark Cottom responded to the scene after a boater called 911 stating he found a man’s body in the Wabash River, two-and-one-half miles south of State Road 154, just after 9 p.m., Indiana Department of Natural Resources conservation officers also assisted at the scene with watercraft. Indiana Conservation Officers Matt Landis and Dustin Cary responded, launching their boat at Merom Bluff, before making their way up river. Units from Crawford County, Illinois Sheriff’s Office and Illinois Department of Natural Resources were also summoned for assistance, Cottom said. Indiana Conservation Officer Dustin Cary will be the lead investigator, with Sullivan County Sheriff’s Detective Ron Elliott assisting. The Sullivan County Coroner’s Office and Carlisle Ambulance Service was also on scene during the recovery of the victim. More information will be provided once it becomes available. Comments are closed.
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Lucy Perry
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