http://www.sanduskyregister.com/story/2018071600357/17/2018 10:45 AM
GREENWICH TWP. — Authorities found a burned body in the wreck of a vehicle that crashed in Huron County last week.
The remains were so badly burned the body could not be immediately identified, county coroner Jeff Harwood said.
The crash occurred either late during the night of July 8 or in the early morning of July 9 on County Road 187 and Greenwich East Town Line Road, according to a news release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
A reliable source told the Register the victim was a corrections officer for the Erie County sheriff’s office. Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth did confirm that Katelynn Shepard, the name the Register was given, is a corrections officer and she has not been at work since the day of the accident.
“We are very concerned about the situation in Huron County but we’re also very appreciative of the effort being undertaken by the Huron County sheriff’s office, the State Highway Patrol and the State Fire Marshal’s office,” Sigsworth said. “There is a comprehensive investigation that’s ongoing.”
Sigsworth said he has spoken with Shepard’s family about the situation.
“We are all deeply concerned with her welfare,” he said.
Harwood, the coroner, confirmed the victim in the car was a woman.
“We’re still working on a positive identification of the body,” he said. “We’re going to base her identification on DNA.”
He said authorities believe the woman’s Ford pickup overcorrected and went off the road into a gully, where it later burst into flames.
Harwood said the cause of death was “not apparent.” The body was sent to the Lucas County coroner’s office for an autopsy.
The State Highway Patrol is asking anyone who might have witnessed the crash to call the investigating trooper at 419-668-3711.
