Report lists drowning as cause of Fayetteville man’s death
Posted on Sunday, June 29, 2008
Preliminary autopsy results revealed drowning as the cause of a local man's death.
The body of 37-year-old Michael Huffman was discovered in the Middle Fork of the White River on Monday.
Huffman, along with some family and friends, went to the Middle Fork Bridge on Black Oak Road for a swim on Sunday. The next day, he was reported missing. Two hours later, his body was found in the river.
Kelly Cantrell, public information officer for the Washington County Sheriffs Office, said Huffman's companions thought he had left the river early to go home Sunday afternoon. A friend went by Huffman's house Monday afternoon and discovered him missing, she said, which prompted the county to mobilize its Swift Water Tactical Rescue Team.
Investigators do not know if any alcohol or drugs were involved.
Huffman's body was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab, but investigators were not aware of anything that appeared suspicious about the incident. Toxicology results will not be available until the full autopsy is completed.
"A lot of times the preliminary autopsy report is just verbal," Cantrell said. "It's not a full written report."
Huffman's drowning was the second one reported in Washington County this year.
Clint Caudle, 48, of West Fork, disappeared on the morning of March 18 while apparently trying to free his pickup truck, which got stuck on a low-water crossing while he was attempting to cross Dye Creek amid heavy rains. Search teams found his body 17 days later.
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