Coroner releases the name of the man found in Fairington Avenue pond
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Amata Pratharn from Elmira, New York, was visiting family in Lafayette, and he was found Wednesday morning floating in the retention pond in the 600 block of Fairington Avenue, Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello said.
Pratharn, 40, did not have any signs of trauma on his body and no signs of disease, Costello said of the Thursday's preliminary autopsy results. Final cause and manner of death are pending toxicology reports.
A person walking his dog spotted Pratharn floating in the southeast corner of the pond about 8:35 a.m. Wednesday. The pond is located between Fairington Avenue and Vineyard Court south of South Street and west of Park East Boulevard.
Lafayette police are still investigating, and they did not comment in time for deadline about what they might have learned about how Pratharn got into the pond.
More:Police search pond on 600 block of Fairington Avenue for body
Police arrived a short time after receiving the call Wednesday morning, and a drone was launched to photograph the pond and area around it. Then divers in dry suits retrieved Pratharn's body from the pond.
The death investigation continues pending the return of the toxicology report, which can take as many as eight weeks.
Pratharn is the second person found in a pond over in the last eight days of August.
On Aug. 23, West Lafayette police were called by a person who planned to fish in the pond north and west of the Harrison Bridge after he saw a body.
As with the body found on Aug. 31, the West Side's investigation showed that the person in the pond did not have any trauma to his body, and there were no signs of disease. Costello's report is pending toxicology tests.
Costello has not confirmed the identity of the man found on Aug. 23, but she said his race is Asian.
More:Body found in pond near Harrison Bridge in West Lafayette
More:Autopsy: Man found in West Lafayette pond had no trauma, no disease
West Lafayette Lt. Jon Eager said police continue to investigate how the man got into the pond.
Both Costello and Eager said they have a presumed identification of the man's name, but cannot release that until it is confirmed by DNA testing.
"I don't have anything that indicates foul play," Eager said of the West Lafayette investigation, noting the case is still being worked.
Eager added that there is nothing to indicate the public should be concerned for their safety.
Eager also said there is nothing to suggest that the West Side's case is tied to Lafayette's investigation of Pratharn's death.
The person from the pond in West Lafayette, Eager said of their investigation as of Friday morning, was last seen on a surveillance video in the area of Northwestern Avenue and State Street in West Lafayette's Village.
There are no surveillance cameras aimed at the pond, so there's no footage to indicate how the man got into the water, Eager said.
Other news outlets have reported a bicycle was found in the area where the body was located in West Lafayette. Eager said there is nothing to tie the bicycle to the man found in the pond.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Coroner releases the name of the man found in Lafayette pond
