EATON —At press time the Preble County Sheriff’s Office was continuing the investigation in a suspected drowning which occurred on Friday evening, Aug. 31.

The incident occurred in Seven Mile Creek, just south of Eaton, according to Sheriff Mike Simpson.

In a press release, Simpson noted, at approximately 5:32 p.m. on Friday, deputies responded to the area after a subject “reported that a family member that he had been fishing with had disappeared.”

Assisted by Eaton Fire & EMS, deputies searched the area of the creek where the person was last seen, Simpson reported. Deputies also were assisted by MedFlight, who checked the area by air, and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, who provided a drone, due to the large wooded and agricultural area surrounding the creek, according to Simpson.

Deputies worked until approximately 3 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1, before suspending their search.

Deputies resumed the search of the area Saturday morning at approximately 8 a.m., with assistance from Eaton Fire & EMS and Buckeye Search & Rescue K-9 Group. According to Simpson, approximately 35 minutes into the search, K-9 units and deputies located the male subject in the creek, in several feet of water.

The victim was identified as Jagat Ghimire, 35, of Liberty Township, in Butler County. Ghimire was removed to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office where an autopsy will be performed, Simpson said.

The case remains under investigation by the Preble County Sheriff’s Office and the Preble County Coroner’s Office.