Body Found By Fisherman In South Haven
The Porter County Sheriff’s Office was called out to the Salt Creek Public Access Site (331 W 600N) at approximately 11:00 AM, Tuesday, by a fisherman that located a deceased male subject in the area.
This is an ongoing death investigation as of 3 PM. Porter County Sheriff’s Office Investigators are on scene along with the Porter County Coroner and Conservation Officers.
UPDATE – On 06/13/2023 at approximately 10:30 AM, The Porter County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a deceased subject at the Chustak Public Fishing Area, which is located at 331 West 600 North. This area is a 76 acre public fishing area just off State Road 149.
Patrol officers arrived to find a male subject located just off a small trail. The male subject was confirmed deceased with trauma to his body. Patrol Officers immediately contacted Investigators from the Sheriff’s Office. Porter County Sheriff Investigators worked throughout the evening and into the early morning hours.
The unidentified male was taken, by the coroner’s office to the Porter County Morgue. An FBI fingerprint scanner was utilized and identified the male subject as Derek William Hartz. Mr. Hartz had an in-house (Porter County Sheriff database) photo that showed a tattoo on the right chest that matched the deceased and he was identified.
Preliminary investigation shows that at the scene, a Virgina ID card was located and the deceased cell phone and car were missing. Investigators utilized state of the art technology and through investigations and cooperation from Ohio local law enforcement. The stolen vehicle was located in Ohio where two male subjects were taken into custody for the stolen vehicle.
This case would not have ended the way it did if we didn’t have the cooperation of our local/state/and federal law enforcement partners.
This was an isolated incident and there is no other concerns to the public. Two subjects are in custody in Hamilton County Ohio and the investigation is ongoing.
Investigators are requesting if anyone was in the area of the Chustak fishing area, from 4:00am-10:30am on 6/13/2023 to please call the Porter County Sheriff’s Office Investigators at 219-477-3140.
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