Body Found In Tennessee Identified As Missing Bellefontaine Man

Tennessee authorities have identified a body found over the weekend as an elderly Ohio man who has been missing along with his wife for two weeks. Chattanooga Police said a body that was discovered near Interstate 75 in southeast Tennessee near the Georgia state line is that of 84-year-old Richard Russell from Bellefontaine. Police spokeswoman Officer Rebecca Royval said Russell's body was discovered Saturday, but a connection to Ohio was not made until Monday. "Once that ball got rolling, we requested some medical records, dental records, to help with a positive ID," she said. Chattanooga Police continue to look for 85-year-old Gladis Russell. Royval said there are various jurisdictions helping in the search near I-75. "The Tennessee Highway Patrol is assisting us with their air unit so we do have a helicopter in the air checking from that point of view," she said. Although not charged, the man suspected in the Russells' disappearance, Samuel Littleton, told Bellefontaine Police he discarded the couple's bodies in separate locations off I-75. Littleton, who is charged in the stabbing death of 26-year-old Tiffany Brown from Bellefontaine, was arrested in West Virginia last week. The Russells and their car went missing shortly after Brown's death.