A man who fled Florida over allegations that he was involved in two murders died Sunday after he accidentally drowned in a Missouri river, authorities said.
22-year-old Sherron David McCombs Jr. was floating with a group of acquaintances in the Current River when he drowned, a spokesperson for the Missouri State Highway Patrol said Tuesday.
Troopers got a call around 3 p.m. about a person who went underneath the water and did not resurface. A rescue team pulled McCombs’ body from the river shortly after it arrived.
Spokesperson Clark Parrott said troopers were initially unaware that McCombs was wanted in Florida.
“He had been using a fake name with them [his acquaintances], because none of the information they had checked out with us,” Parrott said. “So one of our troopers has a portable fingerprint ID machine, and they were able to ID him, and as soon as they did, that’s when it set off all kinds of alarms as to who this gentleman was.”
Parrott said the highway patrol had no previous interactions with McCombs. He said he believes McCombs was working with some of the acquaintances at the river in Memphis, Tennessee, about three hours away. Parrott said the group most likely went down to the river to hang out.
McCombs had been on the run from Tampa police since May 6, according to a post by Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay. McCombs was wanted in two murders, which took place on Nov. 1 and Jan. 3.
A reward of up to $5,000 was offered for information that led to his location and arrest.
The Tampa Police Department did not immediately provide further details about the murders.
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