Student’s body found at landfill in Lorain Co.

Refuse truck’s route included site of concert

The body of Cory Gene Barron, who went missing Friday at a concert, was found Tuesday in Lorain County.

The body of Cory Gene Barron, who went missing Friday at a concert, was found Tuesday in Lorain County.

LORAIN, Ohio — The body of a Bowling Green State University student who disappeared at a Cleveland concert was found Tuesday in a Lorain County landfill.

Cory Gene Barron, 22, of Fremont was last seen around 9:30 p.m. Friday at Progressive Field, where he went to hear country music singer Jason Aldean.

His body was found around 1 p.m. Tuesday in New Russia Township outside of Oberlin, Ohio, at a Republic Services landfill, according to Capt. Jim Drozdowski of the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office. The site is roughly 30 miles west of the Cleveland Indians’ stadium.

Republic Services reported the body after one of its trucks dropped refuse at the landfill, said Captain Drozdowski. That truck’s route included the area around the stadium, and authorities are examining route slips to find out where the truck had been, he said.

There were no obvious signs of trauma to the body. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

Cleveland police classified the incident as a “dead body investigation” and will investigate in coordination with Lorain County, said Cleveland police Sgt. Ali Pillow.

Both agencies and the FBI were at the landfill. Lorain authorities alerted Cleveland police after detectives arrived and noticed the basic description of the body matched the missing person report, Captain Drozdowski said.

“He was last seen here; he was discovered there. We are going to work together to figure out how that transpired,” Sergeant Pillow said.

Cleveland police will continue to review surveillance video from around the concert site for clues. There were about 40,000 people in the area, he said.

The Northeast Ohio Media Group reported Tuesday evening that friends reported Mr. Barron was extremely intoxicated before he disappeared at the concert and that the Dumpster that contained Barron’s body had been at the bottom of Progressive Field, five or six stories below the upper level where Mr. Barron had been sitting for the concert.

The Dumpster was accessible by a chute that was near Mr. Barron’s seat, Cleveland police special services Commander Jim Chura told the news organization.

While he emphasized that the investigation was ongoing, Commander Chura said it was possible Mr. Barron may have fallen into or crawled into the chute.

Mr. Barron, a senior communications major at BGSU, was reported missing by family members Saturday afternoon.

Friends and family remembered him with prayers at a vigil Tuesday evening at Fremont Ross High School. Mr. Aldean and the Cleveland Indians offered condolences for Mr. Barron’s death.

“My sincere condolences go out to Cory Barron’s family and friends. My heart is heavy for you all and you are in my thoughts and prayers,” Mr. Aldean tweeted Tuesday night.