COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) — The Latest on the death of an Indianapolis woman whose body was found on a sandbar by the Flatrock River (all times local):
5:12 p.m.
A coroner says an Indianapolis woman whose body was found on a sandbar in the Flatrock River appears to have drowned.
Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting released a statement Monday afternoon ruling the death an accidental drowning, pending toxicology results.
Columbus police officers found the body of 33-year-old Jacqueline Watts on Saturday morning on a sandbar by the river in the city’s Noblitt Park. She had been reported missing by her family a day earlier.
Police Lt. Matt Harris says a witness reported seeing a woman matching Watts’ description chasing a small dog on Friday afternoon.
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2:30 p.m.
Police in southern Indiana say an animal lover lost her life trying to save a dog from a river.
Columbus Police Lt. Matt Harris says a witness reported seeing a woman matching the description of 33-year-old Jacqueline Watts of Indianapolis chasing a small dog on Friday afternoon. Officers found Watts’ body Saturday morning on a sandbar by the Flatrock River in the city’s Noblitt Park.
Watts provided foster care and hospice care for animals, a Harris told a news conference Monday, “Bottom line, we lost a wonderful person.”
Police also recovered the body of Ringo, the dog she was pursuing. A poster reporting the dog was missing said Ringo had cataracts and was deaf.
An autopsy on Watts was scheduled for Monday afternoon.
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5:58 a.m.
Police in southern Indiana say they don’t suspect foul play in the death of a 33-year-old woman whose body was found a day after her family reported her missing.
The Columbus Police Department announced the update Sunday on the investigation into the death of Jacqueline Watts. Authorities have scheduled a Monday news conference to discuss the case.
The department says officers found Watts’ body Saturday morning on a sandbar by the Flatrock River in the city’s Noblitt Park.
Police found the Indianapolis woman’s parked car on Friday — still running and with its blinkers on — about a half-mile from where the body was found later. Police say Watts had apparently planned to drop off pets at her relatives’ house in Columbus.
