WEATHERSFIELD - The wrecked car of a missing former Niles man was found Tuesday afternoon off state Route 46. An as yet unidentified body was inside the wreckage.
Township police are investigating whether the body is that of the missing man, Jorry Palm, 28, of Akron, who was last seen June 8 in Akron
Police confirmed that the mangled red Mazda pulled from a swampy area just off state Route 46 between Salt Springs and Ruppell roads in Weathersfield belonged to Palm.
The remains inside the vehicle were badly decomposed. The Trumbull County Coroner's Office is expected to confirm an identification as early as today, according to Tribune Chronicle partner WYTV 33 News.
The cause of the accident is unknown, but police believe the car went off the road, became airborne and struck a tree, splitting the vehicle in two pieces. The car was overturned in 18 inches of water, a police report states.
Palm's cell phone last registered June 9 on a tower roughly a mile from were the vehicle was found.
A helicopter pilot who flew over the area Tuesday afternoon spotted the vehicle and called it in. Police were at the scene after 3 p.m.
Palm was last seen at 11:30 p.m. June 8 at Tiny's Bar and Grill, 1199 Triplett Blvd., in east Akron.
Police had been looking at two ATM transactions using Palm's debit card after he left the bar. He left the club and used the ATM at PNC Bank on West Willbeth Road and has not been seen since.
He withdrew money from an ATM at 11:40 p.m. June 8 and more at 2 a.m. June 9. Police said ATM cameras confirmed that it was Palm who withdrew the money, which totaled about $300.
Akron Police Department have been investigating his disappearance, with help from Niles police.
The family was planning a Shining Hope Poster Balloon launch for 10 a.m. Saturday at Waddell Park on the Little Red Dragon football field in hopes of finding Palm. The launch was being coordinated with the nonprofit organization LostNMissing Inc.
Palm's family told the Tribune Chronicle they also had hired a private detective.
Palm's mother, Cheri Van Dyke of Niles, had told the Tribune Chronicle Palm talked to his family almost every day. He is a Kent State University graduate working as a software engineer who designs cockpits for jet planes at Lockheed Martin.
Palm is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 180 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. He was wearing khaki shorts and a gray OSU shirt.