EVANSVILLE — Warrick County search and rescue crews on Monday recovered the body of a Spencer County man from the Ohio River, near the Newburgh Lock and Dam, who had earlier been reported missing from an upriver marina.
According to Warrick County Sheriff Mike Wilder, crews received a report of possible human remains near the dam just before 10:30 a.m. Monday. Soon, a small corps of law enforcement vehicles, boats, and medical personnel gathered near a Newburgh boat ramp as part of the search effort.
On Tuesday night, the Warrick County Coroner’s Office publicly identified the deceased man as 42-year-old Justin “Rocky” MacDonald . In a news release, the office said an autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday morning.
According to the Indiana State Police, MacDonald was reported missing on Sept. 29 from the French Island Marina in Rockport, Indiana.
Shortly after first responders received the call on Monday, Wilder told the Courier & Press the immediate search efforts were complicated by the dangers associated with operating in close proximity to the Newburgh Locks and Dam. The dam’s 2,275-foot-long concrete barrier is positioned on the Ohio River about 16 miles upstream from Evansville, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.