COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A body found in the Scioto River Tuesday afternoon has been taken to the Franklin County Coroner’s office, where an autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
Members of the Columbus Division of Police Dive Team recovered the body about 1 p.m. Tuesday from the river near I-71 and Greenlawn Avenue.
Sergeant Dave Sicilian of the Homicide Unit said the dive team had been searching bodies of water, including the Scioto River, at the request of the Special Victims Bureau, in connection with several missing persons investigations.
Sicilian said the death was being considered suspicious.
“We have a male in his 20s and we don’t know why he died,” Sicilian said.
The body of the man, fully clothed, was caught in debris, partially submerged in water about six to ten feet from the banks of the river across from Scioto Audubon Metro Park, Sicilian said.
“It didn’t seem like the body was too decomposed,” Sicilian said. “It was in relatively pretty good condition.”
Sicilian said police could not positively identify the body until the coroner could perform an autopsy. He said the investigation would focus on which missing persons cases could be connected to the discovery.
“Who’s been reported missing, who’s not where they’re supposed to be, who’s been reported some suspicious activity, so we’re going to obviously start there,” Sicilian said.
The autopsy is set for early Wednesday morning. Police said they also needed to check dental records and that they expected to identify the man by mid morning Wednesday.
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