5/6/98
News directors, editors: A photo of Keith Noble is available at: http://www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/NOBLE.jpg
Contact: Dwight Woodward, Ohio University News Services, (740) 593-1043
Ted Jones, Ohio University Police Department, (740) 593-1911

ATHENS, Ohio -- The body of Ohio University freshman Keith Noble, 19, was recovered from the Hocking River Wednesday by Athens City firefighters who used grappling hooks to pull the body from the water.

The body was discovered about 2:45 p.m. near the west bank of the river about 200 yards south of the White's Mill dam near the west side of campus, Ohio University Police Chief Ted Jones said.

"Two students walking along the river saw the body and called 911," Jones said.

Noble's parents identified the body and a wallet in the pants pocket contained his driver's license.

Noble was last seen at a party at 171 W. Washington St., Athens, about 1:10 a.m. Saturday, April 25.

Last weekend, 40 law enforcement officers and friends and family of Noble searched the Hocking River, city streets, garages and backyards, but turned up no new evidence of Noble's whereabouts, according to Jones. Areas of the city's west side were searched Saturday by officers on foot and specially trained tracking dogs with trained handlers searched along the Hocking River, Jones said.