ASHTABULA COUNTY —
Ashtabula County Coroner’s investigators have identified the body found in Pymatuning State Park last week as 42-year-old Pittsburgh resident Anthony J. Paracca, coroner’s investigator Jim Baehr said.
Paracca’s body was found in the park on Aug. 22 by a young boy who was searching for fishing lures, Baehr said, but the identity of the body could not be easily identified through dental records.
“We had hoped to obtain dental records to confirm the identity of the body, but those were not available. Due to the advanced decomposition of the body, other methods of identification were not options,” Baehr said.
While investigators originally thought the body would not be autopsied, as no foul play was suspected, Baehr said.
“Eventually we did an autopsy primarily to make that positive identification,” he said.
Baehr said Paracca suffered major injuries in 1997 while skiing in Colorado and also in a car accident in 2010.
“He received rods in his femurs and a plate in his left foot after the skiing accident and pins and hardware in his left arm in the 2010 car accident,” he said. “Those individual pieces of hardware have serial numbers, so we identified the body by referencing those serial numbers.”
Baehr said investigators were confident that the body was that of Paracca from the start.
“We didn’t have any indication it was anyone different, but we had to take those extra steps and make that positive identification,” he said.
Paracca had been missing since July 18, Baehr said.
The autopsy was performed by staff at the Cuyahoga County coroner’s office, Baehr said, and again, no foul play is suspected.
“Cause of death has not yet been ruled,” he said, “pending the compete autopsy report and pending toxicology results.”
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