Body of Inmate Who Escaped from Ohio Prison Found Floating in River

A weeklong search for an escaped Ohio prisoner has come to an end after police confirmed that a body found dead in a Kentucky river is "most likely" the inmate, per multiple reports.

During a news conference on Sunday, Henderson, Kentucky chief of police Sean McKinney, discussed the discovery of 50-year-old Bradley Gillespie's body. "Today I believe we have closure to our five-day manhunt." The conference was filmed by local news outlet WBNS 10TV.

The U.S. Marshals Cleveland division also confirmed via Twitter: "Wanted fugitive Bradley Gillespie has been found deceased. His body was recovered in the Ohio River in Henderson, Kentucky. Gillespie was serving time for murder when he escaped custody last week."

Earlier that day, per McKinney to WBNS, a boater reported the body to authorities after finding a person floating in the Ohio River, which also shares a border with Northern Kentucky and Indiana. Gillespie had been last spotted near the river bank.

An official report will be released after a scheduled autopsy on Tuesday.

Gillespie and the other prisoner, James Lee, 47, had escaped by reportedly concealing themselves in a Dumpster while en route to Kentucky. As of Saturday, police had said they were still on the lookout for one of the two men.

That morning, the Henderson Police Department in Kentucky shared that it was "continuing our efforts" in locating prisoner Bradley Gillespie, 50, after he and James Lee, 47, escaped by reportedly concealing themselves in a Dumpster and making their way to Kentucky.

The department first shared news of their escape following the warden's prisoner counts on May 23, when it was discovered the men were missing. They picked up Lee after a "short" pursuit following a traffic stop where both men fled a vehicle driven by Lee. Gillespie was able to get away.

Police had since been working to find Gillespie with a "large amount of manpower from several law enforcement agencies, police K9s, water vessels, helicopters, and drones." The area has a "heavy police presence," per authorities, as they continue to "canvass neighborhoods and follow leads."

Gillespie's daughter had also recorded a video, shared by authorities on Twitter, and encouraged her father to turn himself in.

"Hey dad, if you're hearing this, I'd prefer you turn yourself in before something bad happens," she said. "I want you in my life, I want you at my wedding. I don't want anything bad to happen. So if you could please just turn yourself in before anybody gets hurt, I would appreciate it. We want you safe. We want you back. We want nothing bad to happen."

On Sunday, McKinney said that "the levels or stages of decomposition are consistent with a body that's been in the water four to five days."

Gillespie, who had been convicted of two counts of murder, had been serving two consecutive 15-to-life sentences starting in 2016.