Authorities have confirmed that a body found around 6:15 p.m. Friday (May 6) along Hwy. 61-67 in Imperial was Devin Jarrett Sledge, 18, who had been reported missing on April 30.
Sledge had last been seen at his home in the 900 block of Country Haven Street, and his body was found not far from there, in a vacant lot in the 5100 block of Hwy. 61-67 near the Bob’s Drive-In restaurant, said Lt. Gary Higginbotham of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Some local residents spotted the body and reported it, he said
Before Sledge was reported missing, he had made suicidal threats, Higginbotham said.
He said a gun was recovered near Sledge’s body, but until an autopsy is complete, authorities cannot say whether the teen died from a gunshot wound.
He also said it looked like Sledge had fallen onto rocks in the vacant lot where his body was found, so there was damage from that.
Higginbotham said an autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday (May 10).
He said no foul play is suspected.
“Nothing appears suspicious,” Higginbotham said.
He said authorities used fingerprints to confirm on Saturday (May 7) that the body found in the lot was Sledge.
He formerly attended Windsor High School, which was offering grief counseling for students who needed help coping with the young man’s death, school staff reported.