BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY, Ind. — The family of a retired Columbus doctor is pleading for answers after he was found dead in a ditch earlier this month.
It happened while Dr. Robert Petry was out on a bike ride on the morning of July 14. He was found in a rocky ditch near the intersection of N 475 E and E 550 N, just northeast of Columbus.
His family said there are several suspicious signs that someone else may have played a role in his death.
"He just had this kindness and he was what a physician should be," Dr. Petry's wife Rosie said. "He was what a dad should be."
The doctor's family said he was an avid cyclist and been riding for around four decades.
"To lose him and to not understand why you know makes the process a lot more difficult," Dr. Robert Petry's son Rob said.
The Bartholomew County Coroner's Office said Dr. Petry's autopsy results are still pending.
However, his family said so far test results have not indicated he had any type of medical emergency. They also said the soon-to-be 73-year-old was in impeccable health.
"He would’ve been coming right, turning south, staying on the right hand side," his daughter Denise explained. "But we found him on the left side in the ditch and he was still clipped into his bicycle which kind of shows that he didn’t slow down."
When he was found by sheriff's deputies after being missing for several hours, his family said his neck was broken.
Those factors combined with recent encounters he's had on the road has made them question what really happened.
"He had been complaining to me the last couple of weeks on his bike rides about the number of times that people have been trying to run him off the road had increased," Rosie said.
Since his death, Dr. Petry's family has spent their time canvassing the areas along his route to look for surveillance video or anyone who might have seen anything.
The hope is that someone somewhere can help give them the closure they've been yearning for.
"We miss him," Rosie said through tears. "We want closure. Not knowing has been devastating.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Sgt. Dane Duke with the Bartholomew County Sheriff's Office at (812) 565-5943.