Missing Millersburg man’s body found at Little Dixie Lake, nowhere near trail, sheriff says

After four days of search efforts, the body of a missing Millersburg man was found Tuesday night, according to Clay Chism, Callaway County Sheriff.

Jerry Kinman, 74, of Millersburg, went missing Friday night near where he lived, near the Little Dixie Lake Conservation Area.

Kinman was able to call his wife with his cellphone early Saturday morning, according to deputies. Kinman said he had fallen near the lake, but didn’t know where. Shortly after the call, first responders and state agencies started searching the 733-acre conservation.

Chism said that just before 7 p.m. Tuesday, joint communications received a call about a body being found at the Little Dixie Lake Conservation Area. At the time of the call, volunteers, deputies and Missouri Department of Conservation agents were already in the area searching for Kinman.

A deputy who was a part of the search went to the site where a volunteer on an all-terrain vehicle found the body, north of County Road 228 in the far southeast corner of the conservation area, Chism said.

Chism said the body, identified as Kinman, was found in a heavy thicket of scrub brush and vegetation, not along any established trail, path or a common visitor area. He said the volunteer was very close to the body when he found it.

Chism said no foul play is suspected in Kinman’s death, but an autopsy has been scheduled.

Kinman’s family wanted to thank the community for actively searching for their loved one for four days through rain and heat.