KY KY - Warsaw, Ohio River, *VERY GRAPHIC*, WhtMale 58-68, UP55760, long beard, Sz 9.5 shoe, Feb'19

[Fuuro]

By Natalya Daoud | February 23, 2019 at 12:09 PM EST - Updated February 23 at 1:43 PM
GALLATIN COUNTY, KY (FOX19) -An unidentified man has been recovered from the Ohio River Friday afternoon by the Gallatin County Coroners Office, Gallatin County Sheriff’s Department said in a Facebook post.

Officers said they found the body at approximately 1: 30 p.m.

According to police, the man is between the ages of 60 to 70 years old, 5′10″ to 5′ 11″, has gray chest hair, a black beard, and is partially bald.

He had on a white sock and a navy blue slip-on shoe said police.

If anyone has any information, please contact the Gallatin County’s Sheriff’s Office at 859-567-5751 or call dispatch at 859-567-7021.

From Body recovered from Ohio River, Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office says

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I was looking around the Unidentified Wiki and stumbled upon the case of a man found deceased in the Ohio River in Kentucky. He was found near the Markland Locks and Dam Bridge, which apparently runs over the river where he was found.

NamUS apparently stated that he had only been dead for a few days before his body was found and listed his condition as "recognizable face". However, the first picture that shows up on NamUS is a PM showing that his face was in extremely poor condition. I don't know, what, exactly could have caused this to happen, whether it be bloating, animal activity, or anything else. I did hypothesize on the wiki that he may have been traveling on the bridge when he was hit by a car and thrown into the waters below.

NamUS profile (*VERY GRAPHIC*):
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[rosesfromangels]

Thanks for the *very graphic* warning. May I suggest to those of you who aren't as hard boiled as I am - please don't look.

The condition is likely caused by his time in the water, and what that does to a body. If he were hit by a car as you theorize, that would show up in the autopsy.

This is most likely a homeless person, or a lost soul. May he find peace and belonging in his eternal home.

 

[Fuuro]

Thanks for the *very graphic* warning. May I suggest to those of you who aren't as hard boiled as I am - please don't look.

The condition is likely caused by his time in the water, and what that does to a body. If he were hit by a car as you theorize, that would show up in the autopsy.

This is most likely a homeless person, or a lost soul. May he find peace and belonging in his eternal home.

Hi,

Looking back on things, a car accident doesn't make sense, seeing as that would leave obvious and extensive blunt-force trauma injuries all over the body. Not sure what I was thinking.

And yeah, I have looked at countless postmortem photos myself (as a way of seeing how faithful recons/physical descriptions are to how someone actually looks, and to have a sense of body condition versus time), and this has to be one of the worst. I was debating whether or not to even post a link to the NamUS profile at all, seeing as I included the case number in the thread name. The reason why I was confused about the condition of the remains is because I had never seen a body exposed to water for an extended period of time after death before this, so I had no "reference point" to give me an idea of what might have caused this to happen. I do know that water does somewhat aid in the process of making someone unrecognizable after death, but I didn't know the effects were so dramatic. Usually, when a body is in such poor condition, NamUS does not include a photo of it at all.

Also thought that this is likely a transient. I did some research into the area and several other people have been found dead in the river near this location. I think that many of them were transients, as well.

 

[rosesfromangels]

It's a phenomenon with men; dying in water. Perhaps a symbolic return to the womb; a place and time of comfort and surety.

 

[Bit of hope]

Yes it's graphic....but better rotate the picture....sorry....had to look for where his face was first.....Rotated it but why didn't they clean up his hair, taking it away from his face ....strange....

 

[Bit of hope]

Don't you think a transient person would have all the clothes he owned on his body..I don't know...maybe he went into a "trip", was killed, suicide...where are his clothes? only sock, underwear and shoes.....that's strange...

 

[Bit of hope]

I don't think he was very long in the water...body would have been blown up far more....it was February in OHIO....But off course it was cold in feb. 2019

Sun 2/17 -13°/-28° 0 mm 0.3 CM -1°/-17°
Mon 2/18 -4°/-26° 2 mm 3.3 CM 0°/-17°
Tue 2/19 -6°/-19° 1 mm 1.0 CM 0°/-17°

Ohio February Weather 2019 - AccuWeather Forecast for CO 81237

 

[Bit of hope]

Don't you think a transient person would have all the clothes he owned on his body..I don't know...maybe he went into a "trip", was killed, suicide...where are his clothes? only sock, underwear and shoes.....that's strange...

Correction: he didn't have underwear...only one sock and a slip on shoe (we call it boating shoe) on his left foot. As all his body parts were recovered, what happened to the rest of his clothing, especially the sock and shoe on his other foot? Could it been "ripped of" by the current, or a wave by a big boat, did it "fall" of because of decomposition? I don't know how that works.

 

[Bit of hope]

Maybe a lot of alcohol was involved....Thinking he was a free spirit on a boat....I don't know why......

 

[Bit of hope]

Did the OHIO river already flooded in Warsaw at that time....there was al lot of flooding in februari 2019, but a big storm was a little later....

 

[Fuuro]

Wait, Bit of hope--you were able to see a face in the picture? I did try to look at the picture from several different angles, but I wasn't able to discern much of anything. I know that the picture appears to be upside-down.

Also, the postmortem interval is listed as "days", so you're definitely right about him not being dead for very long. I'm just surprised that he was seemingly so unrecognizable. I do know of a case where a pregnant woman was found murdered in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana in 1986, and despite the fact that she had only been dead for less than two days, she was apparently unrecognizable due to decomposition. This was in June, though, and in a totally different climate.

 

[Bit of hope]

Wait, Bit of hope--you were able to see a face in the picture? I did try to look at the picture from several different angles, but I wasn't able to discern much of anything. I know that the picture appears to be upside-down.

Also, the postmortem interval is listed as "days", so you're definitely right about him not being dead for very long. I'm just surprised that he was seemingly so unrecognizable. I do know of a case where a pregnant woman was found murdered in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana in 1986, and despite the fact that she had only been dead for less than two days, she was apparently unrecognizable due to decomposition. This was in June, though, and in a totally different climate.

you are talking about my sweet LPJD......looking out for her for years....don't know what happened right know, but you made me cry....blame it to the music I'm listening to.

 

[Bit of hope]

I'm not sure you looked at all my posts Fuuro......

 

[Fuuro]

I'm not sure you looked at all my posts Fuuro......

Wait, to which one are you referring? Is it the one where you talk about rotating the picture or another?

 

[Bit of hope]

Wait, to which one are you referring? Is it the one where you talk about rotating the picture or another?

No offence. It's OK. It's hardly a face.
What do you think about the flooding...or do you still think he was transient. It could be, but I just wonder what happened to his cloths....#8

 

[Fuuro]

I, personally, think that he was a transient, even though he was found missing some of his clothing.

I don't think it's out of the question that he removed some of his clothes himself in some sort of mental episode or that they were taken off by the river's current. They could have been baggy.

 

[Bit of hope]

This missing man reminds me of this UID, but some things are off, like his weight (MP 140, UID 240 I don't think he could gain so much in so little time) MP is a little smaller (around 5'6 vs 5'9 measured). Beard is bothering me too. MP looks to have a very white beard. (it could have grown longer but I doubt the color would change that much) MP was wearing white socks en tan slip on sneakers. He is bolding, has gray hair, bushy eyebrows and no tattoos. It's about 2,5 day drive from Grayson to Warsaw KY. Officials said despite being near the lake, Lea is said to have gone missing on land. Could the Ohio river have dragged him all the way from Grayson to Warsaw?

UPDATE: Family holding out hope one month after father with dementia went missing

In this article they talk about gray shoes. Richard Lea is described as being 5’6” tall and weighing 140 lbs. He was last seen wearing a tan shirt, blue cotton shorts, gray shoes and a camouflage hat with a “P” on it.
Family desperate for answers four months after Richard Lea disappeared from Kentucky

***MISSING***
Richard “Rich” Thomas Lea was last seen September 3, 2018 in Grayson, Kentucky. He wandered away from his family at the Grayson Lake Marina parking lot area at approx. 6:30 p.m. wearing a tan shirt with a design on the chest, navy blue drawstring shorts with pockets, tan slip on sneakers with white socks and a camouflage baseball hat with a “P” on the front. Richard suffers from dementia and is mostly non-verbal. He has a close-cut white mustache and beard, a birthmark is visible on his upper right cheek in front of his ear. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Rich Lea, please contact the Kentucky State Police at the number below.
NAMUS # MP52591 #TheAwareFoundation #Missing #RichardThomasLea #RichLea #KentuckyStatePolice #Nonverbal #Dementia #GraysonKY #GraysonLakeMarina #MissingPerson Kentucky State Police Grayson, Kentucky Grayson Lake Marina Grayson Lake WSAZ NewsChannel 3 WCHS & WVAH TV WVAH WOWK 13 NEWS

 

[Sue Doe Nimm]

Graphic is right. I’m a nurse and I said “oh wow!” at this poor chaps photo. The time before his death was unkind, it seems.

His face looks so horribly swollen and discolored for being dead such a short time. I wouldn’t think that he would look so bloated and colorful after a few days in frigid Ohio river water. I could see decomposition happening that quickly for someone who died outdoors in February down here in Louisiana. It’s already in the 60’s or 70’s by then, and we have all manner of critters willing to help with clean up. But in Ohio? You’re still wearing a parka and gloves if you don’t want frostbite.

In regards to the absence of clothing-if hypothermia figured into his death, he may have removed them himself. Your brain believes you’re too warm in the final stages and you strip. Odd things indeed, our brains.

 

[Fuuro]

I'm still kind of disconcerted by the short postmortem interval and the fact that he was listed as "recognizable" on NamUS.

To compare, this is the Doe Network profile of a man who was located in the Hudson River in New Jersey in 2007. He was estimated to have been dead for up to 3 months prior to being discovered, compared to a few days for the Kentucky John Doe. NamUS lists him as being unrecognizable due to decomposition, but his Doe Network profile includes a link to a PM image posted by the New Jersey State Police. In my opinion, the photo isn't the best quality and there is a bit of decomposition, but unlike this John Doe found in the Ohio River, he still looks generally recognizable despite apparently being dead for several months and having been in the water presumably for that entire period of time.

 

[Bit of hope]

I'm still kind of disconcerted by the short postmortem interval and the fact that he was listed as "recognizable" on NamUS.

To compare, this is the Doe Network profile of a man who was located in the Hudson River in New Jersey in 2007. He was estimated to have been dead for up to 3 months prior to being discovered, compared to a few days for the Kentucky John Doe. NamUS lists him as being unrecognizable due to decomposition, but his Doe Network profile includes a link to a PM image posted by the New Jersey State Police. In my opinion, the photo isn't the best quality and there is a bit of decomposition, but unlike this John Doe found in the Ohio River, he still looks generally recognizable despite apparently being dead for several months and having been in the water presumably for that entire period of time.

Somebody could have harmed him, if he was indeed a transient live could leave his tracks on his face, he could have been mangled by debree in the river (floods?)...animal activity...I don't know. Mistakes are made, but generally I think a pro does know he/she is talking about.