Alexander County closes investigation into drowning

Alexander County, Ill., authorities have ended their investigation into the death of a Cape Girardeau man who apparently drowned last month after a visit to a local nightclub.

The body of Joey Caruso, 24, was pulled from the Mississippi River near the Southeast Missouri Port Authority on July 15, two days after he failed to return from a night out with friends at The Pony nightclub, police reported.

Some of Caruso's friends and family suspect foul play, but Alexander County Sheriff Tim Brown said his department found no evidence to support those suspicions.

"We've got to go on the autopsy report," Brown said.

Scott County Coroner Scott Amick reported in July that the autopsy revealed Caruso -- whose body showed no signs of trauma -- likely drowned.

Still, Alexander County authorities took his loved ones' concerns seriously and worked with them to track down possible witnesses, Brown said.

He said an Alexander County investigator interviewed about 20 people in connection with the case but ultimately found no evidence of foul play.

"He interviewed every name they came up with," Brown said.

Caruso's case highlights the challenge of investigating possible crimes across jurisdictional boundaries.

His disappearance initially was reported to Cape Girardeau police, but the case fell under Alexander County's jurisdiction once officers determined he was last seen alive in Illinois, Cape Girardeau police spokesman Darin Hickey has said.

Some of Caruso's associates have said cellphone records suggest he might have returned to Cape Girardeau after he left the nightclub.

Brown did not speculate on the likelihood of that scenario, but he said if investigators uncovered evidence that Caruso made it back to Missouri alive, the case would go back to Cape Girardeau, because Alexander County does not have jurisdiction on the west side of the river.

Brown said he appreciates the concerns of Caruso's family and friends, who have said it is unlikely the recently engaged father-to-be would have disappeared of his own volition.

"I respect that 100 percent. I really do," Brown said. "... Nobody wants to believe their son committed suicide."

Some of Caruso's friends have started a Facebook page in his honor and are offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever may have been involved in his death.

Should those efforts turn up evidence that Caruso did not get into the river on his own, officers could reopen the case, Brown said.

"It always can be reopened," he said. "Homicide has no statute of limitations."

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

519 State Highway 146, McClure, IL

Southeast Missouri Port Authority, Scott County, MO