NORTH VERNON — The body of a North Vernon man who had been reported missing was found in his vehicle that had crashed near State Road 3 and County Road 650S in rural Jennings County Friday.
Indiana State Police said the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department had taken a missing person report earlier Friday after Jimmy W. Turner, 69, North Vernon, went missing in southern Jennings County while delivering newspapers for The Republic.
Troopers from the Indiana State Police-Versailles Post assisted deputies in attempting to locate Turner.
When Turner and his vehicle were not located during an initial search of the area, a more thorough search of the area was organized for later in the day including police, local fire departments, and volunteers.
At approximately 9:30 p.m., a vehicle was spotted overturned in water off the west side of State Road 3, state police said. When emergency crews arrived on scene, Turner was located inside of the vehicle, said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, Indiana State Police spokesman. Turner was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Jennings County Coroner’s Office.
The initial crash investigation by Trooper David Owsley determined that, at about 7 a.m. Friday, Turner was traveling southbound on State Road 3 near County Road 650S in a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox when the vehicle left the west side of the roadway for an unknown reason. The vehicle overturned into a creek out of the view of passing motorists and there were no witnesses to the crash.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing at this time.
Assisting were Jennings County EMS, numerous Jennings County fire departments, the Jennings County Coroner’s Office and multiple volunteers.
