Coroner working to identify man found in Lexington reservoir

The Fayette County Coroner’s Office is working to identify a man who was found floating in the reservoir off Richmond Road near New Circle on Thursday night.

A woman was walking outbound alongside Richmond Road when she saw a body in the reservoir, Coroner Gary Ginn said. She then walked to a nearby fire station to report what she saw.

When firefighters, police and the coroner arrived about 7:30 p.m. they found a white male floating in the reservoir directly across from the McDonald’s, Ginn said. The coroner checked the man’s pockets, but there was no identification.

The man appears to have been in his late thirties or early forties, Ginn said.

Water in the reservoir has been white-capping recently, and it’s possible the man’s body could have been in the back of the reservoir and pulled forward by the moving waters, Ginn said. Police are checking to see if any missing persons reported in the area match this case.

The coroner’s office plans facial recognition work and taking fingerprints in hopes of identifying the man, Ginn said.

Ginn said there were no obvious injuries on the man visible at the scene, but that a more thorough investigation would be conducted. Time in water can sometimes hide injuries and wash away any blood that may have been present in cases like this, he said.

This story was originally published April 12, 2018 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Coroner working to identify man found in Lexington reservoir."