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Baxter County Patrol Vehicle

IDENTIFICATION MADE AND CAUSE OF DEATH DETERMINED OF MAN FOUND IN VEHICLE PULLED FROM LAKE NORFORK

01/15/2013


Vehicle being pulled out of
Lake Norfork

UPDATE:  01/15/2013:

The body of the man found in the vehicle that was discovered in Lake Norfork Saturday morning has been identified by the Arkansas State Medical Examiner’s Office as 27 year old CHARLES B. CSISZER of Flippin, Arkansas.  The cause of death report indicates that CHARLES CSISZER died of a single gunshot wound to the right side of his head.  The manner of death has been determined to be a suicide.

Sheriff’s Investigators recovered a Springfield .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun from inside the vehicle, which was a 1990 blue Nissan Pickup Truck, as well as a box of ammunition.  CSISZER was seat-belted into the truck.  The driver door was unlocked, while the passenger side door was locked.  CHARLES B. CSISZER had been reported missing on or about October 20, 2012 to the Flippin Police Department. His family and friends had not had any contact with him since then.

Original Release Below from 01/12/2013:

The Baxter County Sheriff’s Office has recovered a body from a vehicle discovered submerged in Lake Norfork this morning. At approximately 11:24 AM, the Sheriff’s Office was notified that a person had observed a vehicle about 10 to 12 feet under the murky water off the end of the courtesy dock at the Calamity Beach boat launch area, which is in the Clarkridge area of Baxter County. Sheriff’s personnel responded, including Sheriff’s Sergeant Lee Sanders, who is a diver for the department. Sergeant Sanders dove down to check the vehicle and found the body of a man inside the vehicle.

The body and the vehicle have been recovered. The vehicle is registered to a person reported to be missing from a different jurisdiction since October, 2012. The Baxter County Coroner’s Office took possession of the body. The body will be sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Little Rock for identification and to determine the cause of death. The matter is under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office.

Other agencies assisting at the scene were the Arkansas Game and Fish and U. S. Army Corp of Engineers.

/s/ John F. Montgomery,
Baxter County Sheriff