Body of missing Pittsburgh-area teenager found on shoreline in Ohio
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — More than a year after a body was found on the shoreline of the Ohio River in Wellsville, Ohio, police said it has been identified as a missing 17-year-old boy from Wilkins Township.
In a post on Facebook on Friday, the Wellsville Police Department said that the body was found on the shoreline of the river in the 1600 block of Riverside Avenue in April 2023. The body was not identified as Jayshawn Fountain, who was reported missing in February 2023, until last month.
Police said in Friday's Facebook post that the body was discovered on April 5, 2023, around 9:30 a.m. Police said his body was taken to the coroner's office, where the coroner "estimated the male to be between 30-40 years of age." DNA and fingerprints were collected, officials said, but there was no match in the system.
Police did not say how they identified his body or if they knew the cause of death. They also did not provide any other details on Friday.
"We would like to thank Newell and Wellsville Fire Depts, Columbiana County Prosecutors and Coroner's Offices, and Lisa Savage from BCI&I. Wellsville Police would like to send our condolences to JayShawn Fountain's family and friends," the Facebook post said.
Wilkins Township police said Fountain's guardian spoke to him as he was leaving school on Feb. 24, 2023, the day he went missing. According to phone records, he may have been near the Monroeville Mall, and his duffle bag was found in Wilkinsburg. He was also spotted on a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus.