Authorities confirmed Sunday that the body discovered floating in a Kentucky River was most likely that of , a murderer who had escaped from a prison in Ohio.
Sean McKinney said at a press conference that he believed the five-day search for a missing man was over today.
McKinney reported that a boater had found a body earlier Sunday in the Ohio River. The river shares Kentucky’s border with Indiana and Ohio on its northern side. McKinney said that after the body was recovered, an initial investigation revealed it to be Bradley Gillespie’s, 50. He was last seen near banks of the river.
He said that an autopsy on Tuesday would determine the identity of the remains. Gillespie was seen limping on a security video taken by a retailer in Indiana. Authorities said that he may have been injured while escaping.
Authorities said that the convict had been last seen in the Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution, Lima, Ohio on Monday. They said that the next day, a prisoner’s count revealed he was missing along with James Lee, a 47-year-old inmate.
Investigators claim that the two had hid themselves in a trash bin to escape. Henderson is located about 350 miles south of Lima. The pair was also seen in a Home Depot near Evansville, Indiana and in Vincennes, Indiana where they may have attempted to break into vehicles without success.
Gillespie and Lee were believed to be in an allegedly stolen car that Henderson officers chased until the vehicle crashed and the suspects fled. Lee was arrested nearby, but Gillespie fled and is still at large.
After the pursuit of the vehicle, authorities bombarded the Henderson area, sending dozens offers, three helicopters and bloodhounds. On Sunday, however, the police chief said that Gillespie could have drowned a few days earlier, with his body lying at the bottom the river until this weekend.
McKinney stated that the levels of decomposition were consistent with a corpse in water for four to five days.
Gillespie, who was sentenced in 2016 and convicted of two murder counts, was currently serving two consecutive sentences of 15 years to life. Lee was convicted of burglary, theft and other crimes related to burglary.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol and internal investigations of the jailbreak led to the placement of four corrections department workers on paid administrative leaves.
