Autopsy: Drowning caused death of man found in Kansas River

LAWRENCE -- Autopsy results revealed that drowning caused the death of a man whose body was found Friday in the Kansas River in Lawrence, a Douglas County Sheriff's Department supervisor said.

Lt. Don Crowe said authorities Saturday hadn't been able to confirm the identity of the victim, a white man who was thought to be in his early 20s.

Sheriff's officials hoped that a comparison with dental records scheduled for Monday would prove the man's identity, Crowe said.

He said that Dr. Erik Mitchell, Douglas County coroner, conducted an autopsy Saturday afternoon but hadn't ruled whether the death was a homicide, suicide or accident.

Investigators said they found no obvious indications that foul play was involved in the death of the man, whose body was found after becoming caught in an intake grate of a power plant along the Kansas River.

Workers at the Bowersock Mills and Power Co. on the north side of the river, opposite city hall, found the body at 9:20 a.m. Friday on a grate that prevents debris from flowing into the turbines of the hydroelectric power plant. Workers clean that grate "every couple of days," Crowe said.

Recovery of the body Friday took about three hours.

The victim was fully clothed, according to Crowe, who speculated the body had been in the water for "a couple days."

He said the drowning victim carried identification and had two different addresses in his wallet.

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