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Body Found on Wheeling Island Is Missing Martins Ferry Man

MARTINS FERRY — West Virginia officials have identified the body found Sunday in the back channel of the Ohio River as a missing Martins Ferry man.

The West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office said Joseph Herring, 37, of Martins Ferry, was the man pulled from the southern bank of Wheeling Island. He had been missing since Jan. 9. The office said it used dental records to make the identification.

The Wheeling Police Department released the information late Thursday afternoon. Philip Stahl, public information officer for the department, wrote in his release that the cause and manner of Herring’s death remained unknown. However, he said, there were no obvious signs of foul play.

Herring’s brother, Paul Herring, of Tiltonsville, declined to comment Thursday. But in March, he talked about the evening that Herring had last been seen.

On the evening of Jan. 9, Joey Herring was pouring a soft drink into cups during a birthday party for his son at his Broadway Street home, family members said. He set down a 2-liter bottle and walked out the door. Paul Herring said he never came back. The brother discovered his disappearance when he arrived the next morning to pick him up for work.

Since January, Herring’s family has posted signs on utility poles in Martins Ferry and other cities asking for people to call them if they knew of his whereabouts. The Martins Ferry Police Department had been investigating the case.

In March, Paul Herring said his brother had some drug problems in the past, but during the past two years he had turned his life around. He loved spending time with his children, being outdoors and going fishing, he said.

Joseph Herring grew up mostly in Martins Ferry. He spent his last two years of high school at Buckeye Local, where he graduated in 1999.

A fisherman reported seeing Herring’s body at about 4:50 p.m. Sunday. Police responded, and members of the Wheeling Fire Department also came to the scene.

Assistant Fire Chief Paul Harto said at the time of the recovery the body was found over a tree branch in a decomposing state. He described the body also as being “muddy.”

“It has been in water for a while,” Harto said.

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