Missing SE Ind. motorist’s body found in river

WEST HARRISON, Ind. — Conservation officers have found the body of a southeastern Indiana man in a river near a highway bridge where his car and three others were involved in a collision Monday.

Conservation officers using an airboat found 55-year-old James J. Kramer’s body Tuesday on a sandbar along the Whitewater River. The Guilford man’s body was three-quarters of a mile from the Interstate 74 bridge where he’s believed to have entered the river.

Investigators said Kramer may have either been struck by an out of control vehicle or jumped over the bridge to avoid a vehicle in Monday’s multi-vehicle crash, which was caused by snow and ice on the bridge.

Indiana State Police are investigating Kramer’s death and an autopsy will be performed this week on his body.