A man who wandered from his home in the 3500 block of West Fork Drive in Byrnes Mill on Friday (March 30) was found dead the next morning about a mile away in a water-filled ditch, Byrnes Mill Police Lt. Roger Ide reported.
Gabriel Keller, 43, whose family said he is mentally challenged, left his home sometime after 6 a.m., said his sister Kira Weitzel, who reported him missing about 8:30 that morning, Ide said.
“She said she heard a car door slam, so she assumed that he left in a vehicle (with someone),” Ide reported.
Keller could not drive and did not own a vehicle.
He was listed as missing, and Byrnes Mill Police contacted friends and family, trying to locate him, but to no avail, Ide reported.
Keller’s family also searched for him, and at about 9 a.m. Saturday (March 31), found him dead and floating in an overflow ditch in about 3 feet of water. The ditch was in a farmer’s field west of Lower Byrnes Mill Road between its intersection with North Fork and Frank’s Road about a half mile from the Big River, Ide said.
He said the ditch is usually dry, but recent rains had filled the ditch.
“We believe he entered the ditch near where he was found,” Ide said.
He said Keller had a scratch on his chest but no other signs of trauma to his body.
Ide said the temperature of the water in the ditch was 49.4 degrees when Keller was found in it, and hypothermia might have played a part in his death.
The Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office will complete an autopsy, but police do not suspect foul play, Ide said.