Missing Rineyville Man's Body Found In Rough River Lake

Published: Jun. 26, 2003 at 4:28 PM EDT|Updated: May. 4, 2004 at 10:56 AM EDT
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By Charla Young

(MADRID, Ky., June 26th, 2003, 7:30 p.m.) -- Police say a body found in a suitcase floating in a lake appears to be that of a man missing for more than a week. An autopsy was being performed Thursday to determine the cause of death. The body was discovered by two boaters on Rough River Lake, not far from the area where a missing man's wallet was found last week. Charla Young has the latest.

Two fishermen on Rough River Lake spotted a suitcase floating in the water late Wednesday evening. When they brought the suitcase on board they discovered it contained a body according to the Breckinridge County Coroner.

The discovery was made not too far from where a wallet belonging to Richie Phillips was found. Phillips, from Rineyville, has been missing since June 17. He was last seen having lunch with a friend in Elizabethtown.

Police now say that initial results indicate that the body is, indeed, Phillips. Authorities say their tentative identification of the body as Phillips is based on personal effects found with the body and on a Wildcat tattoo on the shoulder. They're treating the case as a homicide investigation.

A truck belonging to Phillips was found abandoned in southern Indiana. His wallet turned up Monday in a stream that feeds into Rough River Lake.

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Online Reporter: Charla Young

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