43
ID of body pulled from car in Niles to be done today
Decomposed body pulled from car
By Ed Runyan
NILES
The Trumbull County coroner is expected to complete identification of the decomposed body pulled from Jorry Palm’s wrecked car today.
Palm is the Akron resident and Niles native reported missing June 9. His disappearance triggered efforts by Niles and Akron-area friends, family and police to find him.
The Akron Beacon Journal reported that Palm worked as a computer engineer for Lockheed-Martin in Akron.
The autopsy and identification process was ongoing Wednesday with X-rays and dental records being examined, a spokesperson for the coroner, Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk, said.
The Mazda was spotted about 3 p.m. Wednesday by a helicopter pilot flying overhead, said Detective Dan Atkins of the Niles Police Department.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said the vehicle was registered to Jorry Palm, 28, of Akron and that the vehicle had gone into a swampy area on the west side of state Route 46 just north of Salt Springs Road in Weathersfield Township.
The car left the road in Weathersfield Township but came to rest in the city of Niles, Atkins noted.
The car split into two parts, possibly from hitting the concrete, Atkins said.
The highway patrol said the vehicle apparently left the road at a high rate of speed, then hit concrete and brick debris before continuing over a ravine and landing on its roof in some water.
Atkins noted that the location where the car left the road is consistent with a car failing to negotiate a sharp curve on Route 46 near the Niles Greenway bike trail.
The distance the car traveled from the road into the swamp is consistent with a car traveling fast, he said.
The area where the car was found is wooded, filled with high brush and has different elevations, as well as odors coming from the stagnant swamp, Atkins said.
Other than the nearby bike trail and a former tavern near the curve, there are no buildings or natural walking areas.
All of those factors could explain why the car could have remained in that location for more than a month without being detected, Atkins said.