NEW CASTLE, IN — A New Castle man has apparently become the latest East Central Indiana resident to lose their life as a result of recent flooding.
The body of 31-year-old James Briar was found about 3:45 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, along Riley Road near Crescent Drive.
Investigators believe Briar, riding a bicycle, traveled past flood barricades and crashed into large hole created where the pavement had collapsed due to last week's flooding.
Two Delaware County residents died last week in flood-related accidents.
On Saturday, the body of Matthew Morey, a recent Delta High School graduate, was recovered from the Mississinewa River northwest of Albany.
The teenager and three friends about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday had jumped into the rain-swollen river from an iron bridge along Gregory Road.
Emergency responders were able to fairly quickly find Morey's three friends and remove them from the river, but he was not immediately located.
Search efforts would include the use of boats and drones, and participants — including both emergency responders and volunteers — walking the riverbank. Those efforts were hampered by rising water levels in the wake of rainfall, especially that between Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon, that reportedly exceeded all local records.
On Friday, the body of Stephanie Sallee, a 59-year-old Muncie resident, was found in a cornfield along Bell Creek Road southwest of Muncie, a short distance from her disabled vehicle.
Investigators with the Delaware County Sheriff's Department believe she was driving through deep water when her car was swept from the road by the strong current. She apparently was "overcome by the moving water" when she tried to leave the vehicle, Chief Deputy Jeff Stanley said.
Autopsies were conducted on both Delaware County victims on Sunday at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie.
Delaware County Coroner Gavin Greene said preliminary findings indicated both Morey and Sallee died as a result of drowning, with "no other injuries being reported."
Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: New Castle man dies after bicycle crash on flood-damaged road