HENRY COUNTY, Va. – A body found June 27 near a burned car may be that of a missing West Virginia 76-year-old man, according to the Henry County Sheriff's Office.
Shortly after authorities arrived at the scene last week, deputies learned that the burned Mercury car was from West Virginia and that the registered owner was listed as a missing person in West Virginia.Â
John Wesley Buscher, 76, of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, was believed to be driving the Mercury, West Virginia State Police told the Sheriff's Office.
Through further investigation, investigators obtained video footage of Buscher entering a convenience store in Bassett to pay for gas at about 11:27 p.m. on June 16.
About 15 minutes later, the Sheriff's Office said the video shows a car like Buscher’s going down River Road, but the car never comes out.
The approximate 15-minute time difference is the approximate drive time from the convenience store to that point on River Road.
The Sheriff's Office said that no other vehicles were seen in this proximity for hours.Â
While the cause of the fire remains undetermined, the Sheriff's Office said it is possible, based on the scene and tire tracks, that Buscher drove around behind a house at the end of River Road and could not drive back up an embankment he had driven down.
Furthermore, it's likely that heat from the exhaust system under the car set leaves on fire resulting in the car fire.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is still trying to determine a positive identification and the cause of death, but in the preliminary autopsy, there were no signs of induced trauma to the body.
Identification of the body will have to be done by DNA testing.Â
Anyone having information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at 276-638-8751 or Crime Stoppers at 63-CRIME (632-7463).
The Crime Stoppers Program offers rewards up to $2,500Â for information related to crime. The nature of the crime and the substance of the information determine the amount of reward paid.