Man found dead in Dunklin County likely killed by hypothermia

DUNKLIN COUNTY, Mo. -- Preliminary autopsy results show that a man found dead in a Dunklin County ditch likely died of hypothermia, according to Dunklin County Sheriff Bob Holder.

The subject has been identified as Mike Chandler, 52, of the Senath, Mo., area.

According to Holder, a farmer called in the report of a body in the Buffalo drainage ditch at the junction of Route Y and County Road 524 shortly before 9 a.m. Friday. The site is about five miles south of Kennett.

Chandler's body was found with the upper torso on the ditch bank and the lower body underwater, Holder said.

On Saturday, Chandler's body was sent for an autopsy.

The incident is being investigated by the Dunklin County Sheriff's Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol DDCC and the Dunklin County Major Case Squad, which is made up of members of the Dunklin County Sheriff's Office, Kennett Police Department, Malden Police Department and Dunklin County Prosecutor's Office.