Body discovered Friday morning, no foul play suspected

 

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP — The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office said a South Webster man was found dead on Friday, after apparently falling into a ravine near the Blackfork area.

Jason Caldwell, 39, had been on a fishing trip with two companions at a pond on Thursday evening, the sheriff’s office said.

According to the Sheriff Jeff Lawless and deputies, at about 6 p.m. Caldwell decided to wander into the woods and look for old bottles, a hobby of his.

While starting into the wooded area, the group encountered several poisonous snakes and Caldwell was the only one to proceed further into the woods. When Caldwell did not return after a while, and the two companions began to look for him and could not find him.

The companions told deputies that they yelled and honked car horns, but could get no response, so they went and got flashlights and searched for him until after midnight. They returned early this morning and located Caldwell. He was lying on his back at the bottom of a ravine.

At about 9:06 a.m. Friday, the sheriff’s office responded to the call at about the 1.5 mile marker on County Road 33 and saw the body upon arrival.

Deputies said, after inspecting the area, it appeared Caldwell had fallen down the embankment from the top of the ravine. He was discovered about 150 yards from the road in a very dense wooded forest area, an old strip mine area that has had illegal dumping over many years. A bucket belonging to Caldwell, containing some old bottles, was found near him.

Detectives spoke with witnesses and investigated the area around Caldwell’s body, the path, and the fishing area near the pond and found no signs of foul play. Detectives investigated the ravine from top to bottom and could find no signs that any other person had been with him in that area, as there were no foot prints in the mud anywhere near the ravine. Lawrence County Coroner Dr. Ben Mack arrived on the scene and examined the body and found no signs of foul play.

Phillips Funeral Home took possession of Caldwell’s body and, at the orders of coroner Mack, the body will be transported to Montgomery County for an autopsy.
“The cause of death could not be determined at this time,” Lawless said. “But we have no reason at this time to suspect foul play”.

Mack and detectives will wait for the autopsy report while this investigation remains open.