Body of WSU history professor found in pond
Feb 20, 2014, 8:44 AM | Updated: 8:45 am
Police in Pullman say the body of a Washington State University professor has been found in a pond at Sunnyside Park.
Police found the body of 51-year-old Scott Stratton early Wednesday morning.
Authorities say Stratton’s family reported him missing Tuesday night after his dog came home from a walk without him. Police searched overnight and found Stratton floating in a park pond around Wednesday.
“It wasn’t until 6:30 this [Wednesday] morning when the sun came up that officers discovered a body in a shallow pond in Sunnyside Park,” said Commander Chris Tennant with the Pullman Police Department.
The Whitman County coroner has tentatively ruled the death an accident and police say there is no suspicion of foul play.
“One [scenario] is that he slipped and fell in the pond and drowned. The other scenario is that he had maybe a heart attack or a medical condition and died and then fell in the pond, or he just had a combination of both,” said Tennant.
Stratton was a history professor at Washington State.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
