Body of missing Lockridge man found

LOCKRIDGE ? A foot search for Duane Hinkle had barely begun this morning when his body was found within 500 yards of his home.

Hinkle, 61, of 3410 160th St., rural Lockridge, had last been seen Jan. 11 and had not been heard from since leaving a voice message with the sheriff?s office Jan. 12.

?Everything is under investigation at this time,? said Jefferson County Sheriff Jerry Droz, declining to comment any further about the discovery of Hinkle?s body.

Ninety-five men and women of all ages responded to the Jefferson County Sheriff?s Office?s call for volunteers to assist with a foot search at 9 a.m. today.

The plan was to spread out from Germanville Road, east to a dirt road just east of Hinkle?s home with a searcher every 15 feet. As the volunteers were lining up and waiting for the official word to begin, someone on an all-terrain vehicle came up the road from the east and told a deputy the body had been found.

After the discovery, close friends, neighbors and family members stood talking in low tones, reflecting their grief.

?Mark [Taglauer] found him. He was walking along the creek and looked up and there he was,? Tim Egli told his father, Donnie Egli, friend and cousin to Hinkle. ?There was a crevice there, and he was sitting back in it like he was going to watch the sunrise.?

?He looked peaceful,? Taglauer simply stated in a tearful voice.

He and Donnie Egli had been caring for Hinkle?s livestock in his absence.

Brian Taglauer and a couple deputies talked about the ongoing search since Hinkle?s disappearance.

?Someone was here every day,? said Brian Taglauer in reference to the sheriff?s department and neighbors. ?It?s wonderful to have our deputies do what they were doing every day.?

In the days after Hinkle was reported missing, having failed to show up for an arranged meeting with Donnie Egli, deputies combed his roughly 800-acre property.

While the area where he was found had been searched previously and individuals said they had stood on the bridge and scanned the area, in all likelihood Hinkle was buried under a snowdrift and could not be seen, searchers said.

In addition to the volunteers and sheriff?s office, Washington County Emergency Management, Washington Police Department with K-9, Van Buren County Sheriff?s Office, Department of Natural Resources, Jefferson County Emergency Management, Jefferson County Police Reserve, Brighton Fire Department, Fairfield Fire Department and Lockridge Fire Department all had a presence at the search. The American Red Cross was prepared to serve food to the searchers and Hope Lutheran Women provided cookies.

noon.