UPSHUR COUNTY, Texas — The death of an Ore City man in November has been deemed as an accidental drowning following an autopsy.
On Nov. 16, William Chad Martin was found in the Latch community in a pasture creek bed near North Live Oak Road, roughly half a mile from where he was last seen in the early hours of Nov. 5.
The Upshur County Sheriff's Office said autopsy results on Friday show Martin's cause of death to be accidental by way of drowning. The report also listed methamphetamine and broken ribs that are consistent with a fall as contributory factors.
Landowners found Martin's body and reported it to law enforcement. They had worked with both family members and law enforcement over the a week in the attempts to locate Martin.
Martin was pronounced dead at the scene and taken to Forensic Medical Management Services in Tyler for an autopsy.
Martin was last seen by his girlfriend when they ran into the woods near Live Oak Road in southwest Upshur County while it was dark out.
His girlfriend said that her and Martin were smoking methamphetamine on Nov. 4 and were intoxicated from the drug. They were detected stealing tires from nearby and fled in Martin's truck.
The truck ran out of gas and the two of them were separated when they ran in the woods. The girlfriend came out of the woods, but Martin did not.
The girlfriend said they were attempting to run away from approaching vehicles that looked like law enforcement but it was an electric company crew conducting repairs.
Following the autopsy results, the case is now closed.
