Investigators working to ID body removed from Tuscarawas River
NEW PHILADELPHIA – Rescue workers pulled a body from the Tuscarawas River Monday afternoon.
Tuscarawas County Sheriff Detective Capt. Adam Fisher spoke shortly after rescue workers brought the body to the shore near the dock by the Waterworks ball fields just after 4 p.m. At the time, he said they were still working to identify the body.
“Earlier this afternoon there were some state officials … doing some work in the river and while they were doing their work in the river, coming across some debris or some down trees that were in the water … some of their prop wash or the momentum or movement and current from the boat they were operating in actually caused a male body to surface and continue to float down the river.”
Fisher says the body appears to be that of a male in his mid 20s to early 30s. He had only begun his investigation, so details are limited.
He said initially, it does not appear the body sustained any trauma to indicate foul play at this time.
“If there are some traumatic circumstances that happened, that tends to lead us more to believe there was foul play. At this point, there are no indications or immediate trauma that is visible. I will leave it at that for now. “Obviously, why does a body end up in the river? There’s any number of conclusions that can happen.”
Fisher said the body will be transported for an autopsy. We will continue to follow this story and have more information on WJER Radio.