Police: Man Was Alive When Placed In Trash Compactor

Police said a man was found dead at a trash disposal site Wednesday morning.

The body of Dean K. Reinhard was found at Rumpke Waste Removal and Recycling Inc., located at 1191 Fields Ave., at about 8:30 a.m., 10TV News reported.

According to investigators, Reinhard, 45, was found by Rumpke workers, who watch the trash to make sure nothing hazardous is transferred to the landfill.

Detectives said that it appeared Reinhard was alive when he as picked up by a Rumpke trash hauler and placed into the truck’s trash compactor.

Police said that they believed that Reinhard was searching for cardboard and might have fallen asleep

“The load was found in the building after the truck’s load had been dumped,” Rumpke spokesman Todd Wielinkski said. “Exactly where it came from, that’s part of the ongoing investigation.”

Wielinkski said that drivers are not responsible for looking inside dumpsters before they are tipped.

Wielinkski said that an internal investigation was underway to determine if that policy should be changed.

“The driver typically cannot see exactly what's in the container when it dumps,” Wielinkski said. “So this is a difficult situation  we very much send our hearts and prayers out to this  individual and the family "

Police said that they did not think the death was suspicious.

“We’re looking into reports that he was missing,” Columbus Sgt. Rich Weiner said. “It doesn’t appear he was missing. We’ve tracked his whereabouts back to a couple different locations.”

Police said that Reinhard recently was living at a hotel near Ohio State but was evicted for non-payment.

Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for more information.