HARTFORD, Ky. (SurfKY) —The Grayson County Coroner has identified a body found in a toolbox in Grayson County as Tromain Jerome Mackall. His death had been ruled a homicide. Mackall, of Hartford, formerly of Prince Fredrick, Md., was reported missing in July.

On July 25, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting Mackall, 29, had not returned to his residence on Barnetts Creek Road in Hartford and had not reported to work that morning at Tamarlane Industries in Beaver Dam. This was according to Mackall’s roommate. The OCSO immediately entered Mackall as a missing person through NCIC and began conducting a thorough investigation regarding his last known whereabouts.

As a result of the investigation, it was determined Mackall was last seen in the early morning hours of July 24, at a gathering on Collier Road near Whitesville in Daviess County. On July 26, the OCSO contacted the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police to notify the investigation had expanded outside of Ohio County’s jurisdiction.

Through the initial field investigation conducted by OCSO on July 26, witnesses reported there was an argument and a physical altercation involving Mackall at the gathering in Whitesville. Preliminary interviews determined seven people were at the gathering, including Mackall.

Beginning July 29, individual interviews were conducted at the OCSO with five of the six others who attended the gathering. One individual was unable to be found. The United States Marshall Service, Owensboro Police Department, DCSO and Hancock County Sheriff’s Office were contacted to aid in the search of the remaining witness. The FBI was also consulted as an additional resource to aid in the investigation.

Based on information gathered from interviews and family and no cell phone or social media activity from Mackall, the OCSO believed foul play may have been a factor in his disappearance. A search was then conducted by land and air for Mackall in the area he was last seen. The OCSO was assisted by Fordsville Volunteer Fire Department and Ohio County Emergency Management.

Simultaneously, with the assistance of KSP Post 16, a search warrant was obtained through the Daviess County Attorney’s Office for the residence on Collier Road. The search was conducted by the OCSO, in conjunction with KSP, to corroborate witness interviews and obtain evidence or information leading to the whereabouts of Mackall.

On Tuesday, Aug. 2, Sheriff Tracy Beatty was contacted by Grayson County Sheriff Norman Chaffins after the discovery of a body in Short Creek near Falls of Rough in Grayson County. The body was discovered in a large tool box by local residents and reported to the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office.

The body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office for an autopsy and positive identification. According to the Grayson County Coroner, the man found inside the tool box died of multi-modal asphyxiation, meaning more than one method of suffocation or strangulation was used. Today, the Grayson County Coroner and the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Louisville confirmed the identity of the body found in Grayson County as Mackall.

The OCSO will close the missing person case as it has been officially determined Mackalls’s body was found and identified in Grayson County. As Mackall’s last known whereabouts and the location of his body were outside the jurisdiction of Ohio County, the Kentucky State Police will continue the open death investigation.

(This article first published in SurfKY News and has been republished with SurfKY’s consent)