The search for Dillon W. Burgan, 29, Madison missing southern Indiana man, tragically turned into a death investigation after his body was located late Tuesday.
Late Tuesday evening, a local farmer contacted Washington County Sheriff Brent Miller after finding an article of clothing in one of his fields.
The farm is located off SR-135, approximately four miles south of Salem.
The farm is on the opposite side of the highway and just east of where Dillan Burgan was last seen.
After receiving this information, Sheriff Miller began searching the area on foot.
A short time later, Miller located Burgan’s body several hundred yards off the highway in a heavily wooded area.
Indiana State Police Detective Travis Baker, ISP crime scene investigators, and the Washington County Coroner’s office were called to the scene.
The Washington County Coroner positively identified the body as that of Burgan.
The family of the deceased has been notified.
There were no apparent signs of injury or trauma; however, an autopsy has been scheduled for Wednesday to determine the cause of death.
On Thursday, July 29, 2021, family members of Burgan contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Department to report Burgan as missing. He was last seen walking into a heavily wooded area behind an acquaintance’s house on SR 135, approximately four miles south of Salem, Indiana, earlier that day.
A search for Burgan began on Thursday evening and continued thru Friday and Saturday.
Officers and volunteers from the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, the Salem Police Department, Indiana Conservation Officers, The Gibson Township Fire Department, and the Southern Indiana Search and Rescue Association took part in the search.
The investigation included an extensive ground search utilizing off-road vehicles and K9.
On Saturday evening, ISP detectives assumed the investigation, and on Monday, an ISP helicopter searched the area believed to be where Burgan was last seen.
This case is still under investigation.
