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Body found near river identified as missing dad who struggled with mental illness

The Sandusky County Coroner's Office says the body is that of Damon Scott of Fremont. Scott had been missing since mid-January.
The unidentified body found in Fremont this past weekend has been identified as Damon Scott, who has been missing since January.

FREMONT, OH (Toledo News Now) - The body found near the Sandusky River in Fremont Sunday has been identified as a missing man.

A group of fishermen found the body alongside the river near Sand Road and North Front Street around 2 p.m. Sunday. The body was located almost a mile north of the Tackle Box II restaurant on the Sandusky River.

The Sandusky County Coroner's Office says the body is that of 38-year-old Damon Scott, of Fremont. Scott was reported missing by his family in mid-January. He was last seen leaving his mother's home.

The Sandusky County Sheriff's Department is working with the Fremont Police Department on the case. Several detectives from both agencies worked together to process the crime scene and check multiple locations on foot and from aircraft.

Around 1 p.m. Wednesday, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations in Bowling Green confirmed the prints recovered from the unidentified body were that of Scott.

Throughout their search for Scott, police were hoping for the best.

"I never gave up hope," said Det. Jason Kiddey. "I was hoping to find Damon Scott alive…I just wanted to keep the spirits up of the family…I wanted to stay as positive as possible for them."

Chief Timothy Wiersma said he believes Scott's history of mental illness may have made the search for him more difficult.

"Somebody with mental illness, or somebody who has a history, might not contact their family," Wiersma said. "If somebody else left, they would get to their bank account or they would get to money they had – and he had money and that didn't happen."

Fremont Police said they are unsure how long Scott's body was lying near the river, and they are waiting for autopsy results to determine cause of death, but Wiersma believes the weather may have been a factor, because Scott left his mother's house with nothing but the clothes on his back.

"You could speculate, that it was very cold out in January, and that he was not dressed for the weather and you could only survive for so long out in the weather," he said.

The families of Scott have been notified and say although they appreciate the condolences, they respectfully request to be left alone to grieve the loss of their loved one.

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