FRANKLIN, Ohio — Two sets of human remains were found in the Great Miami River within minutes of one another, but miles apart.
On Sunday afternoon, as crews were searching for a missing man near Franklin, Ohio, skeletal remains were discovered on a small island on the Great Miami River north of the Lions Bridge.
The remains have been identified by the Warren County Coroner's Office as 37-year-old William Middleton, from Franklin, Ohio. Franklin police said Middleton was identified because the Miami Valley Crime Lab were able to match his fingerprints.
No cause for Middleton's death has been determined at this point, police said.
Franklin police Chief Adam Colon said a drone launched by Texas Equisearch spotted skeletal remains about 5:30 p.m. as they were searching for a local man who has been missing since June. Searchers contacted police to investigate the remains, Colon said.
Colon said the skeletal remains appear to be an adult but that the body was so decomposed that it was unidentifiable and it was undetermined if it was a male or female. He said the Warren County Coroner’s Office was contacted and transported the remains to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office for identification.
On Monday, the Fairfield Police Department said officers discovered a second deceased person in the Great Miami River, behind Waterworks Park, at around 5:38 p.m. on Sunday.
That body was taken to the Butler County morgue for identification and to determine a cause of death.
The coroner's office identified the body Tuesday as 39-year-old James Tirey of Fairfield. The coroner determined Tirey's cause of death was an accidental drowning.
The Journal-News is a media partner of WCPO.com.
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