McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to the Mentmore area around 7 pm Feb. 28 in connection with a report of a body found under the bridge near the Mentmore Road.
When officers arrived, they found the body of Ernest Bilagody, 35. They also found a red Volkswagen parked near the body, which was in a fetal position.
Deputies found a pack of beer nearby with one can opened.
The police report said Bilagody was on his knees with his face wedged in the ground face down. The body was cold to the touch, according to the report.
There had been a report earlier in the evening of a man dressed similarly to Bilagody leaning over the bridge.
Merle Bates, the chief investigator for the sheriff’s office, said March 8 that his office is still waiting for autopsy results but at the current time the case is not being investigated as suspicious.
