FATALITY Body of man, 42, found face down in field near river
YOUNGSTOWN -- A partially decomposed body was found Sunday morning near the Mahoning River about 500 feet behind the BJ Alan Fireworks Co., 555 Martin Luther King Blvd.
Bernard Kolat, 42, of 1311 Bennington Ave., was found in a field face down next to a black-and-red six-speed bicycle, according to police reports. A cause of death is undetermined, pending a ruling from the coroner's office.
According to reports, an employee at Homeless Solutions said he hadn't seen or heard from Kolat since Tuesday. Around 9 p.m. Saturday, the employee checked Kolat's residence and was unable to find him. The next morning, he checked local hospitals and an area near the river where Kolat sometimes went when he hadn't taken his medication, reports show.
After finding Kolat's body around 10 a.m. Sunday, the worker called police, the report says.
Along with the bicycle, police found camping equipment as well as a wallet containing various personal papers and $128.
The crime lab is to process the bicycle and camping gear. The wallet and its contents were turned over to the coroner.