BODY FOUND IN NEWPORT

Newport police found a dead body in a building on Wednesday afternoon. Officer Justin Shelton was dispatched to a building on Old Knoxville Hwy owned by Richard Foust. Foust had called 911 about a possible dead body in the bathroom. When officer Shelton arrived he found a male body lying on its back in a stage of rigor mortis. First Call EMS arrived and pronounced the man Preston Ward as deceased. Ward had been hired by Foust to paint the inside of the building. A search of Mr. Ward’s pockets revealed a syringe and cloth rope used to administer illegal drugs. No more information is available at this time.