
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 20, 1995                   TAG: 9506220021
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

DROWNING VICTIM'S BODY FOUND

The body of a 52-year-old Vinton man was discovered Monday afternoon, four miles from where he dived into Tinker Creek more than a week ago, Vinton police said Monday.

William Snyder disappeared in the rain-swollen creek June 10 after swimming with a friend. Rescue workers looked for Snyder for three days, but called off their efforts after conducting a thorough search of a 11/2-mile section of Tinker Creek.

Police and rescue workers found his body Monday at about 1:30 p.m., 30 minutes after they resumed the search. The body was discovered in the Roanoke River, about a mile downstream from its junction with Tinker Creek.

"We decided to search, and we found him," Lt. W.F. Brown Jr. said. "We were 99.99 percent sure that if we didn't find him in Tinker Creek, we'd find him in the water of the Roanoke River."

An autopsy scheduled today will determine whether alcohol played a part in the drowning, Brown said.

"The family is taking it rough," Brown said. "They still had hope that he had gotten out and was still alive."

- Staff report

by CNB