INDIANAPOLIS — The Marion County Coroner's Office called in the bomb squad Friday morning after a suspected explosive device was found on the body of a man killed in a police chase crash earlier this week.
Both the Marion County and Johnson County coroners confirmed the deceased individual was Marco Antonio Peña Morales. He died Wednesday night when his truck crashed and caught fire on Interstate 65 near Franklin. IMPD officers originally pulled Peña Morales over near the intersection of East 21st Street and Emerson Avenue before they say he led them on a chase.
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Johnson County Deputy Coroners initially responded to the crash scene but Peña Morales' body was sent directly to the Marion County Coroner's Office for examination because of the IMPD investigation.
The suspected device was not detected during the Johnson County Coroner's Office examination at the scene of the crash, but officials in Marion County discovered it during Peña Morales' autopsy Friday morning.
"Our protocols were immediately followed, and the bomb squad was called in as a precaution," Marion County Corner Alfie McGinty said in a statement. "We are relieved to report that the device has been safely removed from our premises. At this time, all of our staff are safe, and there is no ongoing threat."
Johnson County Coroner Mike Pruitt said his biggest concern from the incident was the safety of all personnel involved.
"God was looking out for everyone on the scene and at the Marion County Coroner's Office," Pruitt said in a statement.
WRTV asked former FBI crime scene investigator Doug Kouns how officials may have missed the suspected device at the scene. Kouns said the fire and the dark conditions are the likely reasons why it was undetected.
"The clothes, the skin, everything, it just turns coal black," Kouns said. "It wouldn't surprise me if it didn't just blend into everything that's already there. You want to get it in the body bag, zipped up and out, and probably nobody opened it up again until it got to Marion County."
Kouns also said coroners typically do not do a thorough investigation of a body until it is at their office, partially to protect evidence at the crime scene.
"Outside of safety concerns, it's typically not going to be searched," Kouns said.
IMPD said this is not believed to be a targeted act of violence toward any person or entity. In an update Friday evening, they said the device on Peña Morales' body was taken to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms and that the device "would not be easily identifiable or recognizable to a reasonable person."
The matter remains under investigation.
