Medical examiner says man accidentally drowned
were with him that night lead me to believe he was not going to make it home that night.”
The James family has been critical of how Pittsburgh police Missing Persons detectives handled the search. They said they felt detectives dismissed their assertion that foul play was the only feasible avenue to explore in Dakota’s disappearance, given the kind of person he was. They said he was in no way suicidal — he had plans to be with his family that weekend — and was not a novice drinker and would not have been so inebriated that he accidentally fell into the river.
“It’s not often you want to heary our son was the victim of foul play, but we were hoping for that so it would lead to a bigger and better investigation and not end where all the others end.”
Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Sonya Toler responded: “The bureau earnestly investigated every lead and every tip, and did not approach this investigation with any preconceived conclusions.”
While the search for Dakota continued, his family and friends spent nearly the entire time in the Pittsburgh area, attending vigils, posting “missing” flyers and conducting searches by air, water and land. Because of the flyers and widespread media coverage, Dakota’s boyish face became well-known to area residents, who volunteered for searches and provided the family food, lodging and moral support.
A day after Dakota’s body was found, the medical examiner’s office said the cause and manner of his death were undetermined and would remain that way pending toxicology tests. Results of the toxicology tests have not been released nor have the reasons for determining that the drowning wasan accident.
The family said it plans to retain Cyril H. Wecht, a forensic pathologist and former Allegheny County coroner, to review the autopsy results.
Dr. Wecht, who noted he had not yet been formally retained by the Jameses, said he was not disputing the autopsy findings but noted that for a specific ruling on the manner of death, such as an accident — or homicide or suicide, for that matter — there needed to be “something tangible of a physical nature or something from an investigative standpoint” that would support a specific finding. Otherwise, and it occurs often, the manner of death is ruled to be “undertermined,” meaning it could be an accident, a suicide or a homicide but there is not enough evidence that points to one to the exclusion of others.
Pam James said she plans to contact the medical examiner’s office Friday to try to find out how the accidental ruling was determined.
“I’m absolutely surprised. I need a better explanation. I don’t believe it was an accident,” she said.