911 caller recalls finding woman’s body in Preble County; death investigation continues

PREBLE COUNTY — UPDATE (Oct. 13):

A Wayne County, Indiana woman was identified as the person found dead in a ditch in western Preble County Sunday afternoon, according to Preble County Sheriff Mike Simpson.

Autumn Lowery, 33, was identified by the sheriff’s office as the victim found near Cox Road Sunday afternoon.

Her cause of death remains under investigation. Additional details about the sheriff’s office investigation were not released.

Wesley Pfenning, from Los Angeles, was visiting her mother in Richmond. She said they were out for a drive Sunday afternoon when they saw what turned out to be Lowery’s body just off Cox Road, near Paint Road, less than a mile from the Indiana line.

“We didn’t know how long she had been there, but there was no sign of any kind of trauma,” Pfenning said.

She called 911 reporting the discovery, waiting for first responders to arrive.

Pfenning told News Center 7′s Sean Cudahy this has been on her mind since Sunday.

“You just wanted her to be at peace from whatever happened to her,” she said.

FIRST REPORT (Oct. 12):

Deputies are conducting a death investigation of a woman whose body was found in a ditch in western Preble County Sunday afternoon, according to Sheriff Mike Simpson.

Units were called to the area of Cox Road near Paint Road around 3:30 p.m. Sunday after a driver spotted the body in a ditch, Simpson said in a media release issued Monday.

The identity of the woman is not known and her body was sent to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy which was scheduled for Monday, Simpson said. Investigators with the sheriff’s office are working to attempt to identify the woman.

Additional details were not released and the incident remains under investigation by the Preble County Sheriff’s Office.

Cox Media Group