A 22-Year-old Campbellsburg man was found dead Friday morning and a Vallonia man is in custody in connection with the death.

The body was stuffed inside a duffle bag and hid under an abandoned mobile home. 

Friday morning, the Washington County Sheriff’s Department requested assistance from detectives from the Indiana State Police Post at Sellersburg in searching for a missing person from Washington County.

Jacob Ray Dodson,22, a 2014 graduate of Salem High School, had been reported missing Friday by his family. They said they had not seen him since Oct. 20. 

During the police search for Dodson, who was living in the Campbellsburg, officers located and questioned Jerry Lee Carson Jr., 47, from the Vallonia area.

Police say Carson Jr. was an associate of Dodson.  

After speaking to Carson Jr., ISP Detectives placed him under arrest.

He was charged with Obstruction of Justice and False Informing to Police.

He was incarcerated at the Washington County Jail.

Officers were also able to gain enough information to obtain a search warrant to search a property located at 4031 Wheeler Hollow Road, Vallonia.

While searching the property, officers located a body in a duffel style bag located under an abandoned mobile home.

The body was positively identified as Jacob Ray Dodson by the Washington County Coroner’s Office.

An autopsy is planned for Sunday morning in Washington County to determine a possible cause of death.

Dodson was reported as a missing person Friday, Oct. 26 by a family member and was allegedly last seen on Saturday, October 20^th, in Washington County.

This investigation is a death investigation.

After the autopsy and a possible confirmation of the cause of death is made, this status could obviously change, according to ISP Sgt. Jerry Goodin. 

The Washington County Sheriff’s Department, Coroner’s Office and Prosecutor’s Office are assisting in the investigation.

No further information will be available until the autopsy is completed Sunday morning.

Indiana Conservation Officers are asking for the public’s assistance in slowing a string of environmental thefts in southern Indiana. Charles Cole Jr., 44, of New Salisbury, is wanted on an active felony arrest warrant, stemming from an investigation earlier this month.

On October 10, Indiana Conservation Officers received a report of trespass in northern Harrison County, after a landowner’s trail camera captured a late-night photo of a man suspected of stealing ginseng plants from the property. The landowner also discovered that a separate trail camera had been stolen from a tree.

Upon viewing the trail camera photo, Indiana Conservation Officers immediately identified the man as Charles Cole Jr., from recent dealings with him involving a separate trespass/ginseng theft case. After speaking with Cole, they discovered stolen ginseng and a stolen memory card from another trail camera at his residence.

During the course of their investigation, Indiana Conservation Officers recovered stolen ginseng in addition to 9 stolen trail cameras and memory cards. As a result, they sought an arrest warrant through the Harrison County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday, Oct. 19. 

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Oct. 21, Indiana Conservation Officers fielded additional complaints after Cole was again caught on a property owner’s trail camera trespassing and digging ginseng in Washington County.

To date, Cole has sold at least 40 pounds of ginseng, much of which is believed to have been stolen from unsuspecting landowners. Current market value for dry ginseng in Harrison County is approximately $500-$650 per pound.

Ginseng is regulated to ensure a healthy population for the future. For more information on Indiana’s ginseng program, follow this link: https://www.in.gov/dnr/naturepreserve/8235.htm.

If anyone has information concerning this case, they are encouraged to contact Indiana Conservation Officers Central Dispatch at 812-837-9536, or their local law enforcement agency.

All charges are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.