Courtesy-ISP Sgt. Stephen Wheeles FB page
RISING SUN, Ind. – The Indiana State Police-Versailles Post began conducting a death investigation along the Ohio River in Rising Sun on Friday afternoon.
The initial data indicates that at around noon, Ohio County deputies and Rising Sun police officers began looking for a Jeep Liberty that had allegedly left the scene of a crash in rural Ohio County. Law enforcement soon located the vehicle as it approached Rising Sun. The driver supposedly refused to stop and fled.
The Jeep continued for about one mile to an Ohio River boat ramp in Rising Sun where investigators believe the driver intentionally drove into the river.
Officers entered the water to try to free the driver and made contact with the adult male in the vehicle. It is believed that the driver remained uncooperative and refused to exit the Jeep. Police were unable to make entry into the vehicle before it became submerged.
Indiana Conservation divers were summoned and found the driver inside the vehicle. He was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Ohio County Coroner’s Office. Investigators will work with the coroner’s office to determine a cause and manner of death.
The identity of the deceased individual is not being released at this time. The investigation is ongoing and toxicology results are pending.
