Published Friday, Jan. 4, 2002
SHENANGO VALLEY
Former local man's death under investigation in OhioThe Franklin County Coroner in Columbus, Ohio, is waiting for toxicology tests before determining the cause of death of a former Shenango Valley man who was found dead Dec. 30 in a creek bed in a wooded area of the city.
Coroner Dr. Brad Lewis said an autopsy showed no signs of trauma or violence on the body of William James Bagnall, 34, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
Bagnall, a Sharon native who graduated from Farrell Area High School, had been dead 24 to 36 hours before his body was found, said Lewis, a Hubbard native whose father, George, taught at Hickory High School.
Lewis gave this account:
Bagnall was with a friend at 6 p.m. Dec. 29 and was agitated when he left the friend's house because he thought the friend was trying to get him into trouble.
Bagnall called his girlfriend and said he was in a wooded area.
When the girlfriend did not hear from Bagnall again, she called in a missing person report.
A deputy for the Franklin County Sheriff's Office saw Bagnall's car in a parking lot, then noticed the body in the water, reported The Columbus Dispatch.
The Dispatch said Columbus police were investigating, but the department told The Herald no report was available.