PUT-IN-BAY – Recently located video surveillance footage of an assault outside the Frosty Bar may be the key to solving the case.
A call came in to the Put-in-Bay Police Department at 12:11 a.m. Friday. An Ottawa County Sheriff’s deputy found a man unconscious in what is commonly known as Commodore Alley, between Catawba and Loraine avenues, near the rear of the bar.
The call record report notes Put-in-Bay officers found a male lying on the ground. He told officers he was a musician and had been performing at Frosty’s. He did not know what happened after leaving. Due to bleeding from the head, the man was transported by to a Toledo hospital by a medical helicopter.
Later that day the victim returned to the Put-in-Bay police station regarding pressing charges.
Police Cpl. David Fenstermaker said the case remains under investigation. He confirmed social media reportsthat the victim had a concussion, a fractured vertebrae and possible minor surgery for the cut on his head.
Police searching for a suspect
“I might have a possible suspect. I’m trying to pursue that. I just don’t have a name yet,” Fenstermaker said. “I’m hoping someone comes forward, because we don’t have a name yet.”
The police requested surveillance camera footage. Fenstermaker indicated one camera in the area was found to be non-functional since 2023.
“Somewhere between that back patio (at Frosty’s) and the Commodore, he was assaulted,” Fenstermaker said. “It would help if everyone had cameras here. We tell them every year to get good cameras, because it would help them.”
Police have a basic description of the event and the suspect who may have committed the assault.
Fenstermaker said there was a verbal altercation in the bar between multiple people, based on a claim the victim may have inappropriately touched a woman.
Description of man police are looking for
The suspect is described as being an older male, in his mid-40s to mid-60s, about 6 feet tall and stocky, with short spiky hair, with a possible tattoo on the upper right arm. He was wearing greenish-gray shorts, sandals and a black short-sleeve shirt that had a red American flag on the right sleeve with a “Don’t tread on me” snake logo on the back. The man may have been accompanied by several younger women.
Fenstermaker said the man paid in cash, but may have used a credit card at other establishments.
Put-in-Bay Police are requesting information from the public on the identity of the individuals involved in the assault.
419-332-2674
This article originally appeared on Port Clinton News Herald: Assault investigation at Put-in-Bay helped by surveillance footage
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