Man found dead in car submerged in pond on northeast side
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Police on Wednesday morning found the body of a 44-year-old man inside a car submerged in a pond on the northeast side.
The pond is along Pendleton Way, just off Pendleton Pike and along the I-465 ramp onto southbound lanes. Police were called to the scene shortly after 11:05 a.m. Wednesday to the 3900 block of Pendleton Way.
Authorities believe Ronald Wade, 44, of Indianapolis, was driving southbound on I-465 when he left the roadway for an unknown reason and drove into the retention pond.
“Preliminary investigation leads us to believe the vehicle came off of I-465, through the ditch, over the access road and into the retention pond,” said Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine.
Wade was reported missing to authorities on Sept. 28. Police said no signs of foul play were immediately evident. Family told police at the scene that Wade had to be at work early Monday morning, it is not clear if he ever made it there.
A woman at the scene said she and her husband were walking their dog Monday when they found a bumper to a vehicle that matched the car found in the pond. The bumper was put into the trunk of the car and towed away from the scene.
“My husband was over walking our German Shepperd over in the empty lot over there and when he walked back he had observed the bumper in the tree line over there in the fence row,” she said. “He pulled the bumper noticed it had a license plate and noticed there was more car parts in the bushes over there.”
The woman said she and her husband didn’t think to call police because they assumed it was debris from a previous accident.
The car was removed from the pond Wednesday by about 1:20 p.m. The Marion County Coroner’s Office is investigating the cause of Wade’s death.
An Indiana State Police dive team was at the scene.
On Sunday, a 34-year-old man died while trying to retrieve his car from a retention pond also along Pendleton Way.
News 8’s Sierra Hignite will have a report on News 8 at 5 and 6. This report has been updated to reflect the identity of the victim.