Two bodies found under south bridge

Wichita police said two men were found dead Wednesday morning beneath a bridge near Pawnee Avenue and McLean Boulevard in south Wichita, after a person reported seeing them unconscious. Andrew Ford, chief public information officer for the Wichita Police Department, told local outlets that the report came in at about 9:50 a.m. at the Patrol South substation. Officers went to the Arkansas River bridge and found both men dead, Ford said. Police had not publicly released both identities as of Thursday, and the Sedgwick County medical examiner is expected to determine how the men died. ### Where were the bodies found? Pawnee Avenue and McLean Boulevard were the location police gave for the discovery, with the men found under the Arkansas River bridge in south Wichita. KAKE reported that the person who alerted police walked into the Patrol South substation and said two unconscious men were under the bridge. (kake.com) A Wichita Police Department vehicle was photographed near the intersection on July 8 as officers worked the scene, according to local coverage indexed by MSN. The area sits within the department’s Patrol South service area, according to the city’s patrol map. ### What have police said about how the men died? Andrew Ford told KSN News that investigators preliminarily believe the two men died of suspected overdoses. (kake.com) He said the medical examiner’s office will make the final determination on cause and manner of death. KSN’s report described the victims as two men, and an MSN summary of local reporting said one of them was a 57-year-old man. (msn.com) Police had not broadly published full identifying details for both men in the material available Thursday. ### Why did early reports describe the deaths as suspicious? Wednesday’s early local reports said detectives were treating the deaths as suspicious while the investigation was active. (aol.com) Later reporting from KSN and KAKE attributed a more specific preliminary assessment to Ford, who said investigators suspect overdoses. Police departments often use limited public descriptions in the first hours of a death investigation while awaiting scene work and autopsy findings, but in this case Ford’s on-record statement is the clearest public account so far. (aol.com) The medical examiner’s ruling will determine whether police revise the classification. ### Who is handling the investigation now? The Wichita Police Department is leading the case, according to statements carried by KSN and KAKE. (msn.com) Ford was the named department spokesman in both reports. The Sedgwick County medical examiner’s office is responsible for the final determination on the men’s causes of death, Ford said. (aol.com) The City of Wichita’s records page says police reports and related documents can be requested through the department’s records process, though such material may not be immediately available in an active investigation. ### What information is still missing? (kake.com) Police had not publicly released a full account of how long the men had been under the bridge, whether they were believed to know each other, or whether investigators found drugs or paraphernalia at the scene in the reporting available Thursday. No arrests had been announced in connection with the deaths. (aol.com) Thursday’s available reports also did not include autopsy results or a timetable for their release. The Wichita Eagle’s local news listings showed the story was updated Wednesday afternoon, indicating the case was still developing. ### What happens next in the case? The next formal step is the medical examiner’s determination on cause and manner of death, which Ford said will provide the final ruling in the case. (kake.com) Wichita police have not announced a date for that finding. Anyone seeking official records later can use the Wichita Police Department’s records request process under the Kansas Open Records Act, according to the city’s website. (kansas.com) For now, the named public participants are Wichita police investigators, Ford as department spokesman, and the Sedgwick County medical examiner’s office. (wichita.gov) (aol.com)