UPDATE 5-06-2019 - The WV Medical Examiners office has ruled that the death of a Grantsville man was accidental, according to Grantsville Police Chief Craig Gherke.
Jerry "JD" Hess, 29, disappeared in Nov. 2018 and was discovered in the Little Kanawha River several months later in the Burning Springs area of Wirt County.
Local officials said the river was running high at the time of his disappearance.
BODY DISCOVERED IN LITTLE KANAWHA RIVER IDENTIFIED JERRY 'JD' HESS - Memorial Service Announced
UPDATE 4-14-2019 - According to his sister, Heather Robinson, a body found in the Little Kanawha River, in Wirt County, on April 7th has been identified as Jerry "JD" Hess.
Robinson said, "We won't know more than that for a few weeks still." There will be a memorial service Saturday, April 20th at 11am at the First Baptist Church in Grantsville.
State Police could not comment on the identity of the remains Monday.
UPDATE 4-10-2019 - Authorities said Tuesday evening they are still continuing the investigation into a body that was found in Wirt County.
The badly decomposed body of an unidentified male was found on Sunday evening, authorities say. They suspect that the body had been in the water for some time.
The body was sent to the West Virginia State medical examinerâs office in Charleston to get more information about the time and cause of death for the investigation.
4/7/2019 - A body was discovered in the Little Kanawha River before dark Sunday night in the Burning Springs area along Rt. 5, Wirt County.
Wirt County responders recovered the remains.
Grantsville Police Chief Craig Gherke said the body has been taken to the WV Medical Examiners office.
Sources told the Hur Herald that the body was partially decomposed.
Chief Gherke said, "It is too early to tell if the remains could be missing Grantsville resident Jerry "JD" Hess."
Hess went missing in Grantsville in November, 2018.
Chief Gherke said he had not received any leads on the missing man.
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