Wanda English Burnett - Editor

Last Thursday, January 11, information given to Milan police led them to a location along the railroad tracks in Milan where they made the grim discovery of the body of 39-year-old Susan Bradley. The body was in a sinkhole along the tracks, just a few hundred yards from where she was last seen, according to information from the Indiana State Police.

Bradley had been reported missing by her family on December 29 and was last seen December 21 when she left her residence in Milan. Her body was found close to that residence in a trailer park just off Ripley Street.

Police say the body was positively identified as that of Bradley. The preliminary autopsy results show that there were no apparent signs of unusual trauma to the body. Toxicology reports are pending. The autopsy was conducted at the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office in Louisville, Ky, last week.

When police initially responded to the scene where Bradley’s body was found last week, they handled the situation as a crime scene but said “there has been no determination as to whether or not foul play may be involved.”

Police agencies involved in the investigation included the Milan Police Department, which had launched an exhaustive missing person’s investigation since December 29, Batesville Police Department, the Ripley County Sheriff’s Department, Ripley County Prosecutor’s Office and the Indiana State Police.

One day after the discovery of Bradley’s body, police took Stephen Slayback, 55, of Milan, into custody. He and Bradley shared a residence at Milan. He was formally charged with Failure to Report a Suspicious Death, Unlawful Movement of a Body, a Class D Felony. While the charge is in connection with the disappearance of Bradley, police are not saying exactly how Slayback is connected to the situation. He is currently being held in the Ripley County Jail, pending an initial hearing.