Body believed to be KU student

LAWRENCE -- A University of Kansas student is believed to be the man whose body was found Friday in the Kansas River, according to his family and the mortuary handling funeral arrangements.

Obituary information provided to The Topeka Capital-Journal on Sunday identified the victim as Jarold E. Baker, 22, of Attica in Harper County in south-central Kansas. Baker was a KU senior majoring in aerospace engineering.

Baker's funeral service is scheduled for 1 p.m. today in the United Methodist Church in Attica, according to Elliott Mortuary in Attica. The casket will remain closed.

The body was found at 9:20 a.m. Friday on a grate that prevents debris from flowing into the turbines of the hydroelectric Bowersock Mills and Power Co. plant on the north side of the Kansas River, opposite city hallDouglas County Sheriff's Lt. Don Crowe estimated the body had been in the river "a couple days." The man was clothed and carried identification.

Crowe said Dr. Erik Mitchell, Douglas County coroner, conducted an autopsy Saturday afternoon and determined the man drowned.

The case remains under investigation. Mitchell hasn't ruled whether the death was a homicide, suicide or accident, but detectives found no indication of foul play.

Crowe said sheriff's officials hoped a dental records comparison today will confirm the victim's identity.

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