Hikers find man dead in watering hole, Arizona cops say. He’s identified months later
A man has been identified months after hikers found his body in an Arizona watering hole, according to a sheriff’s office.
After spotting what they thought to be a dead body, three women hiking in Yavapai County contacted the Department of Public Safety on April 8, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said in a July 17 Facebook post.
Troopers arrived on scene and confirmed the man was dead, deputies said.
Shortly after, deputies said they arrived and found the body “partially submerged in the water/mud.”
The man was not clothed, and his personal items found near the watering hole were kept as evidence, the sheriff’s office said. At the time, the sheriff’s office called the man’s death “suspicious.”
On July 12, the body was identified as Velmurugan Ramnathan, 40, of Phoenix, deputies said.
With “no other injuries” on his body, Ramnathan’s death has been ruled an accidental drowning, the sheriff’s office said.
Yavapai County is about 100 miles north of Phoenix.
This story was originally published July 18, 2023 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Hikers find man dead in watering hole, Arizona cops say. He’s identified months later."
