ALTON — The cause of death for a teenager whose body was pulled from a lake here was by drowning, according to preliminary autopsy results released Tuesday.
Elias Barajas, 18, was reported missing to the Mission Police Department Aug. 9, and the Alton Police Department received information that he was last seen headed toward a lake located east of Harding Avenue and North Chicago Street on Aug. 10. Mission divers recovered his body Aug. 12.
Preliminary autopsy results also suggest that Barajas’ death was accidental.
“The Alton Police Department’s investigation into the matter is consistent with the forensic pathologists’ findings,” a police news release stated following the release of the autopsy.
