Ohio police found two bodies on August 23 and August 24 in two different locations within the state. Newport Police Chief Kevin Drohan said during a press conference that the first body was by boaters on the Purple People Bridge, which prompted an immediate official probe. However, police were called back 14 hours later as another corpse was found at the Brent Spence Bridge. Both bridges are located on the Ohio River.
When asked about the two bodies’ identities, Drohan told reporters that the Newport and Cincinnati police departments are cooperating in the investigation, and explained that the corpses haven’t been identified so far. While he said that the two departments have split responsibilities on the investigation, he didn’t specify if they would divide the cases or would have different tasks for the two of them. Drohan added that even when every hypothesis has been taken into consideration, the two departments are treating the two cases as homicides.
In a statement, the Cincinnati Police Department said that the bodies were already undergoing autopsies not only to determine the cause of death but also to determine injuries that can’t be seen on the outside, as well as any sign of foul play. The department added that both departments are waiting for “additional information” on the cases to take some actions that could clarify not only determine the bodies’ identities but also to know what really happened. It also explained that the area where the two corpses were found was near the border of Kentucky and Ohio, which was the reason why the cases were being covered by the two departments instead of one.
During another press conference, Bone County Water Rescue Sgt. Danny Schuckman said that the corpses were dead one day before being discovered. He also told reporters that the rescue service determined that the two corpses were originally at the bottom of the river, but the turbulence from boats and the numerous dynamics going on along the river brought the bodies to the surface. Schuckman explained that it was impossible for Water Rescue to find the bodies before as they hadn’t received too many authorizations to dive after summer ended.
Over the last few years, crime has been increasing in many parts of the United States, including Ohio. Some political commentators have claimed that the Biden administration is to blame because of the economic crisis that the United States has been dealing with under the current presidency, which has increased poverty in some states.
A recent study also revealed that Ohio is the third out of 50 states in the country with unsolved violent crimes in 2022, with 85 percent. The study was published by researchers of the Council of State Governments Justice Center, who analyzed data from the Uniformed Crime Reporting program of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
