Body ID’d as man who fled OSHP during traffic stop

Published 9:46 am Friday, February 3, 2012

 

 

ROME TOWNSHIP — The body of a man who jumped into the Ohio River almost three months ago has been recovered.

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Jason Clagg, 25, of Barboursville, W.Va., was identified as the man who was the focus of a mass rescue effort in the fall of 2011. His body was recovered this week by the Scioto County Sheriff’s Office

In November an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper stopped a car with Ohio tags on County Road 107, near Elm Street, for running a red light. The traffic stop happened at 1:30 a.m. A male passenger jumped from the car and fled on foot. The trooper pursued the subject but lost sight of him in the dark.

After a canine search was conducted, law enforcement officials heard cries for help coming from the river. The subject was 40 to 50 feet out in the river. Soon the swift current of the river pulled the man out of sight of the officers. A trooper went into the river with a flotation device but could not reach the man. Then two rescue boats with thermal imaging devices were deployed but were unable to locate anyone.

“(The body) was spotted by a lady who was taking pictures of the river at the Adams-Scioto County line,” Lt. Michael Gore of the Ironton Post of OSHP said.

Clagg was wanted on a warrant for failure to appear on an earlier traffic violation of driving without a license.

The driver of the car, a woman, was not detained and no charges were filed against her.