Second escaped inmate found floating dead in Ohio River
The body of the second of two Ohio prison escapees was found floating in the Ohio River on Sunday, authorities said.
Convicted double murderer Bradley Gillespie, 50, was spotted by a boater, Henderson, Ky., Police Chief Sean McKinney said at a news conference.
“A preliminary investigation indicates we recovered the body of Bradley Gillespie from the river,” he said.
Authorities received a call Sunday about a “possible body in the Ohio River” near a boat ramp, police said. Gillespie’s tattoos were some of the clues police used to make the preliminary identification. McKinney said police, firefighters, a coroner’s office and others responded to the tip.
Gillespie’s accomplice, 47-year-old James Lee, was captured Wednesday after the pair stole a car and led police on a chase during a traffic stop near the Kentucky-Ohio border. The 6-foot, 200-pound Gillespie fled on foot, sparking a manhunt that lasted for days.
The two escaped from the Allen/Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima, Ohio, about 90 miles northwest of Cleveland, on May 22 by hiding in a dumpster. Police offered a $21,000 reward for their capture.
They were found in Henderson, a Kentucky city across the Ohio River from Indiana that’s about 350 miles southwest of Lima. Lee’s prison term for burglary and safecracking began in 2021. Gillespie, convicted in a double homicide, had been in prison since 2016.
Besides murder, Gillespie’s charges included breaking and entering, theft, assault, possession of drugs, escape, forgery, receiving stolen property, weapons offenses and burglary, the Henderson Police Department said.
“The last time Gillespie was known to have been seen before today’s recovery was shortly after he fled from officers on foot at approximately 03:19 hours on the morning of 05/24/2023,” Henderson cops said in a statement.
The fugitive will undergo an autopsy on Tuesday, police said.
A major and three corrections officers have been on administrative leave since the escape, and further actions may be levied against others inside the prison. The Ohio State Highway Patrol is also investigating.
With News Wire Services
