Death of man recovered from Great Miami River in Dayton ruled an accident

Just before 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 17, a 911 caller reported a body in the river near the 600 block of West Monument Avenue.

“I’m wade fishing and I’m pretty sure that there’s a body out here laying face down,” the caller said. “...The river is really shallow right now. I thought it was a log or something but it’s not.”

The Dayton Fire Department responded and recovered the body. Five Rivers MetroParks Chief of Public Safety Mark Hess said there were no obvious signs of trauma or foul play.

He said the man may have been in the water for a couple of days, but it wasn’t clear how or when he entered the river.

The incident remains under investigation by Five Rivers MetroParks.