Missing Columbus man found dead in Pickaway County

Pickaway County Sheriff Matthew O. Hafey announced this week that on Jan. 20 at 11:29 a.m., the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received a call from two men who were duck hunting, who reported they believed they just located a dead body. 

The callers reported the body was on an island on the Scioto River just north of state Route 762.

Deputies, detectives and fire personnel from Scioto Township and Harrison Township Fire Department worked to retrieve the body off of the island and get it out of the river.

The body was sent to Montgomery County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy.

On Jan. 22, the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office identified the body, by way of fingerprints, as Robert L. Hanson Jr., 50, of Columbus. Investigators learned that Hanson was entered as a missing person out of Columbus.

Sheriff Hafey would like to thank Scioto Township Fire Department, Jackson Township Fire Department, Harrison Township Fire Department, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Box 65 and the Pickaway County Coroner for all of their assistance at the scene.

This case remains under investigation by the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office and the Columbus Police Department.