Deceased had not been seen since early November . . .
On Thursday, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office deputies were notified of a body located in a pond in the 2400 block of West 246th Street near Sheridan. The deceased person was found face down in the water surrounded by ice and appeared to have been in the water for an extended period. A Sheridan police officer found the body while checking the property for owners who were out of town.
With assistance from fire department water rescue personnel, the body was recovered from a small pond. Deputies were unable to make immediate identification but noted the recovered person was a male wearing black shorts and a black hooded shirt.
An autopsy of the deceased male was conducted on Friday. Utilizing several identifiers including clothing, fingerprint characteristics and tattoos, the partially decomposed body was identified as John Paul Dawson Waters, 25, Sheridan. No signs of trauma or apparent foul play were noted in the autopsy. Toxicology tests were conducted with results pending at this time.
Detectives working the case state an individual wearing black shorts and a black hoodie was reported as a suspicious person around the Sheridan Schools on Hinesley Road on Nov. 7, 2018. A second call of a suspicious person matching the description was reported later the same day in the 2800 block of West 246th Street. Sheridan Police were unable to locate the suspicious person on that date but it is believed the reported person was Waters. Waters had not been seen by anyone since early November.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Sheriff’s Office detectives through Hamilton County Public Safety Communications at 317-773-1282.
The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Carmel Fire Department, the Sheridan Fire Department and the Sheridan Police Department.