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Henderson County, KY Coroner: Prison escapee's death ruled drowning

Police say the body of Bradley Gillespie, who escaped from a correctional institution in Lima with another inmate, was found early Sunday.

ALLEN COUNTY, Ohio — UPDATE: On Wednesday, the Henderson County, KY coroner released the autopsy of Bradley Gillespie, whose body was found in the Ohio River on Sunday. 

According to the coroner's preliminary autopsy report, Gillespie's cause of death was drowning. His manner of death was ruled an accident. The report states there was no evidence of other trauma. 

The original story is below:

The body of the second inmate who had escaped from a prison in northwest Ohio last week has been found, according to police in Henderson, KY.

Henderson police believe the body of 50-year-old Bradley Gillespie was found floating in the Ohio River on Sunday.

Police said they had received a report from a boater on Sunday of a body floating in the Ohio River near the last known whereabouts of Gillespie.

Police stressed that the investigation is preliminary but everything they’ve seen would seem to indicate it was Gillespie’s body.

Police say the tattoos on Gillespie's body played a large part in their belief that it was Gillespie.

An autopsy will be performed on Tuesday

Another inmate, who escaped at the same time as Gillespie, 47-year-old James Lee, was arrested by authorities in Henderson on Wednesday.

Credit: Allen County Sheriff's Office
Bradley Gillespie, 50, left, and James Lee, 47, right, escaped from the Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution in Ohio.

U.S. Marshals say the two men surfaced in Henderson, Kentucky on Wednesday after being pursued by local police.

Marshals say the men crashed the car they were driving in near a park in Henderson.

Lee was taken into custody shortly after the crash but Gillespie evaded police by fleeing on foot.

At that point, Marshals say they established a perimeter with local police which was bound by the Ohio River.  

The men were reported missing from the Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution earlier on Tuesday.

During a prisoner count at 11 a.m. Tuesday, ODRC officials found that Lee was missing. An AOCI warden approved an emergency count of all prisoners in the facility and escape posts were guarded. It was then discovered that Gillespie was also missing.

Before their escape, both men had last been seen Monday at 8:41 a.m. on surveillance video at the prison prior to their escape, ODRC said.

Gillespie was convicted of murdering two people in Paulding County in 2016.

Lee was originally convicted of burglary, breaking and entering and safecracking. He will face further charges.

The U.S. Marshals and Ohio State Highway Patrol are offering a reward of up to $21,000 had offered a reward of $21,000 for information leading to the capture of the inmates..

This is a developing story. Stay with WTOL 11 on-air, online and on our free mobile news app for the latest updates.

Credit: Allen County Sheriff's Office
James Lee, 47, left, and Bradley Gillespie, 50, right, have escaped from the Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution. Call 911 if you see either man.

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