UPDATED: 6:24 p.m.
The body of a young male, identified by officials at the scene to be in his 20s, was found at the bottom of a creek near Dow Lake off U.S. Route 50 near Strouds Run State Park, authorities confirmed Thursday afternoon.
The body has yet to be publicly identified by the the Athens County Sheriff's Office, the lead agency on the case.
But Interim Replacement Sheriff Rodney Smith, at the scene before the body was pulled out of the water, said "there is no evidence that would say it is Sam Wiater,” the missing 21-year-old who went missing last month.
He added: "We don’t know right now," and that there were no identifying factors on the body, which was found with a backpack.
Trina Wiater, Sam’s mother, told The Post a friend told her about the body after reading a news report online. She said she called the Sheriff’s Office, where someone confirmed to her that the body was not her son, but another male named Sam.
The Post could not independently confirm that the body was not Sam Wiater's.
The body is being sent to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy, Smith said.
The sheriff’s office used a diving team to pull the body — which was completely submerged — from the water.
More information is forthcoming, authorities said.
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This is a developing story. Stick with The Post and follow @ThePostLocal for more updates. This news article will be updated as information comes into the newsroom.
Correction: A previous version of this web article indicated that the body was found in at the bottom of Dow Lake. In fact, the body was found in a creek near Dow Lake.
