On Tuesday morning, a Sheriff’s Office Deputy was dispatched to Luhr County Park (3178 South CR 150 West), in rural Scipio Township, regarding an abandoned pickup truck. The responding deputy determined the registered owner of the pickup truck to be 45 year old Russell A. Aldridge. The previous day, a Failure to Appear Arrest Warrant was issued for Aldridge. Aldridge failed to appear in Superior Court I as a defendant for a jury trial that was scheduled to begin that morning. In June of 2016, probable cause was found charging Aldridge with 4 counts of Class “A” Felony Child Molestation and two counts of Class “C” Felony Child Molestation. Aldridge had been out on bond since August of 2016 while the case was pending. The deputy and members of the Fugitive Apprehension Street Team (FAST) began searching the property of Luhr County Park. On Tuesday morning, the deputy and FAST located the body of an African-American male in a wooded area of the park suspended from a tree. Sheriff’s Office Detectives were summoned to the park to begin an investigation. With the assistance of the La Porte County Coroner’s Office, the body was identified as Aldridge. The La Porte County Coroner’s Office has ruled the death of Aldridge to be asphyxiation, due to self-induced hanging.