By LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / May 22, 1999

RESERVE – An autopsy of a man pulled from the Mississippi River Tuesday by a tugboat crew indicated an accidental drowning, according to the St.

John Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The body was identified as that of Lexon “Lex” Myles of 241 East 23rd St.

in Reserve.

Chief Harold Klibert of the St. John Sheriff’s Office said there were nosigns of trauma, no gunshot wounds, no signs of any struggle indicating foul play on the body.

Myles, 35, was reported missing on May 2. He was last seen May 1 whileworking on his vehicle in his front yard at 6:30 p.m.He was last seen wearing a green and burgundy-colored “Hill Behan” ballcap, white T-shirt, khaki-colored “Dickey”-brand pants and white tennis shoes.

Since his disappearance, Myles’ car has been towed to Harris’ Wrecker Service by his wife.

Identification of the body was made through examination of the contents of a wallet still in a pants pocket, which was recovered by the St. JohnParish Sheriff’s Office crime scene investigators.

Myles was found by the crew of a Triangle Fleeting tugboat on Tuesday at 1:44 p.m. Triangle Fleet is located in Reserve at Louisiana Highway 3179.The body was brought to the Harbor Services dock of the Port of South Louisiana where Assistant Coroner Dr. Dominic Arcuri pronounced himdead at 2:45 p.m.Port Operations Director Mitch Smith also recognized Myles’s remains as he was brought to the dock. Smith confirmed that Myles was recently hiredby the port, due to start work on May 26 as a deckhand.

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