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Post by LadyBlue on Jun 8, 2004 16:08:06 GMT -5
The body of a 47-year-old Moundsville man was found with an apparent gunshot wound late Monday night in the waters of Barkcamp State Park, but the cause of death has not yet been determined.
The body of Edward R. Roset was discovered at about 11 p.m. Monday by an officer with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks at a dock adjacent to Barkcamp beach, park manager Rick Conder said today. The cause of death has not been determined, and the body has been transported to Licking County for autopsy. Those results could be returned as early as today. Conder said the ODNR Division of Parks is handling the investigation.
Today, Belmont County Coroner Luis Vazquez said the body appeared to have a gunshot wound and was tied to a pole on the dock. He added, however, that the cause of death will remain listed as "undetermined" until autopsy results are returned.
Conder said a park officer discovered Roset's vehicle when she was preparing to close the beach area of the park Monday night. He said it did not appear there was anyone else in the area.
"His vehicle was there, and there is no swimming after dark," Conder said. "Our officers go through the area at dusk. If they see a vehicle, they advise them that they are locking the gate and they should gather their things to go on out. It happens every night. If they (officers) are busy with something else, they get there when they can. She saw the vehicle, and looked until she found someone.
"We only found him there," Conder added. "There was no one around the vehicle."
Conder said the Belmont County Sheriff's Office, Belmont Fire Department, Bethesda Police Department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to the scene. He also noted that he appreciated the assistance of the agencies. Conder stressed that Barkcamp and other state parks are safe places and added that the incident is unfortunate and uncommon.
"These are beautiful places where tragedies don't usually occur, but once in a while they do," Conder said. "Historically, they are safe places, and these things are a rarity. But, these things occasionally do happen."
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Post by LadyBlue on Dec 20, 2004 22:09:46 GMT -5
The 17-year-old granddaughter of Jack Whittaker, winner of the nation's biggest undivided lottery jackpot, was found dead Monday near her boyfriend's home, more than two weeks after she disappeared.
The cause of death was under investigation. Authorities said there were no obvious signs of violence. An autopsy was planned Tuesday.
Brandi Bragg's body was identified by tattoos on her neck, said State Police Sgt. Jay Powers. ``The troopers had talked to her in the past and knew her,'' Powers said.
The body was found several hundred feet from a house owned by Steve Crosier, whose son Brandon was Bragg's boyfriend, said Trooper 1st Class S.E. Wolfe. The body was found behind a junked van, wrapped in a sheet and plastic tarp.
A preliminary investigation indicated that Bragg may have died in the Crosiers' house and her body was later moved.
Bragg, who lived in the nearby town of Hurricane, was last seen alive on Dec. 4. Whittaker, a contractor who on Christmas Eve 2002 won a $314.9 million jackpot, reported her missing five days later.
Wolfe said Monday's discovery was based on interviews with Brandon Crosier and others. ``We are focused on him but I wouldn't call him a suspect yet,'' he said.
Steve Crosier, in a brief conversation with reporters outside his house, said: ``All I know is she OD'd and Brandon freaked out.''
But police would not comment on whether drugs were involved, and in a later telephone interview with The Associated Press, Crosier said he did not know any details of Bragg's death or when her body was placed outside on his property.
Whittaker has had several brushes with the law since he won the prize. Earlier this month, a magistrate ordered him to go into rehab and surrender his driver's license after his second drunken driving arrest this year.
He has also been accused in two lawsuits of assaulting female employees of a racetrack. And his vehicle, business and home have been broken into.
In September, an 18-year-old friend of his granddaughter was found dead at Whittaker's home. That death remains under investigation. Whittaker was out of town at the time.
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Post by LadyBlue on Feb 11, 2005 8:56:29 GMT -5
Police are investigating the discovery of a body in downtown Logan Tuesday.
The body was wrapped in a sheet under a pile of tires on a hillside along Chestnut Street.
Officers were canvassing the area searching for a man who has been missing since Jan. 13 when they found the body -- which has not yet been positively identified.
Logan Police Chief Dave White said he's called in the Crime Scene Team from Charleston to help process the scene.
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Post by LadyBlue on Sept 20, 2005 17:55:19 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Body Found in Boone County[/glow] The Boone County Sheriff's Department is investigating the discovery of a body near the Logan County line.
Two brothers made the discovery in Boone County Tuesday morning.
They found their brother dead in Spruce River near the Boone-Logan County Line.
Detectives from the Sheriff's Department and State Troopers converge on a railroad truss between the communities of Laurel and Clothier.
The family reports that 39 year old Billy Aldridge was on his way home from a friends house Monday night, but never made it.
His brothers went looking for him Tuesday morning when they saw him in the river.
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Post by LadyBlue on Mar 11, 2006 17:12:39 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Shawn Steptoe[/glow] BLUEFIELD — A skull discovered one year ago on East Street has been identified as that of a 14-year-old city teen missing since 2004.
Shawn Steptoe, son of Anthony Steptoe and Trina Flack, was reported missing by his father on May 17, 2004, Bluefield Police Lt. Tom Helton said.
Dental records confirmed the skull was that of Steptoe, according to a report released to Helton Thursday by the State Medical Examiner’s Office.
A grid search will begin this morning with Bluefield police officers and 15 Army Reservists searching a one-mile area around where the skull was found in an attempt to locate additional remains, Helton said.
No cause of death has yet been determined, and there is no indication the skull was buried, he said.
Steptoe resided at 213 Union Street, and was last seen the evening of May 17 between 5 and 6 p.m., Helton said.
The teen did leave a note, he said.
Steptoe’s disappearance was investigated as a missing person/possible runaway, and a BOLO (‘‘be on the lookout”) was issued, Helton said.
After Steptoe’s disappearance, authorities and family members received tips the teen had been sighted in Mercer and McDowell counties. Helton said such tips were received as recently as two to three months ago.
“Even after we found the skull, people reported sightings of him,” Helton said.
The skull was discovered by a resident of East Street in early March 2005, who was unaware it was a human skull.
“He found it earlier in the week but didn’t think it was real,” Helton said in a previous report. He said neighborhood dogs frequently roam the area and often leave items behind the man’s vehicle.
Days later, on March 12, 2005, two young boys were playing as they walked down East Street and kicked the skull. They, too, did not realize what it was until they saw it roll down the incline. Helton said the boys told their mother, who contacted police about the discovery.
Helton said police believe the skull was brought to the East Street location by a neighborhood canine.
The East Street neighborhood is located a few blocks south of Bluefield Avenue, slightly behind and to the left of the former Central School.
While East Street and intersecting avenues are residential, the region beyond is forested, steep and only dotted with houses.
A row of abandoned houses north of the East Street area have previously been searched by police, with no additional evidence discovered.
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Post by LadyBlue on May 28, 2006 13:52:31 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Body Found Near Witcher Creek[/glow] One man was found dead Thursday morning near Witcher Creek in eastern Kanawha County, but there are still plenty of questions about what happened.
Roy "Porky" Jameson had been missing since early Wednesday morning. He was last seen leavning his uncle's house on an ATV. Police say it appears he crashed his four-wheeler on a dirt road in between Witcher Creek and Simmon's Creek. But after hours of scouring the hillside, an ATV wasn't found near the scene.
Family members believe foul play may have been invovled. The victim's aunt says "Porky" had enemies around Witcher Creek. "It looks like to me he's been murdered because his four-wheeler is no where in sight to be found," said Karen Thomas. "I really think someone murdered him, and bring him up her and threw him over the mountain."
The top priority for the vicitm's wife is the couple's two kids. "I don't know, what do you tell a four year old and a six year old, daddy's never coming home again, you can't tell them something like that, they don't understand," said Melissa Jameson.
State police are still investigating the incident, and still trying to find the missing 4-wheeler.
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