There is a "high probability" that Joseph "Joey" LaBute Jr. was already dead when he went into the Scioto River, Franklin County Coroner Anahi Ortiz said today.

There is a "high probability" that Joseph "Joey" LaBute Jr. was already dead when he went into the Scioto River, Franklin County Coroner Anahi Ortiz said today.

LaBute, a 26-year-old Gahanna resident who hadn't been seen since he left a Short North bar earlier this month, was found dead Tuesday afternoon in the river just south of Downtown.

His identity was confirmed Wednesday night, using dental records. LaBute's family was notified of the match, and his name was released this morning by Ortiz.

"There is a high probability that he was dead prior to going in the river," Ortiz said. "We cannot determine that with 100 percent certainty."

A vigil to honor LaBute will be held at the gazebo at Goodale Park in the Short North at 7 tonight.

The cause and manner of LaBute's death remain under investigation, but police said they have labeled his death suspicious primarily because of the circumstances in which his body was found. Ortiz said further medical and toxicology tests are needed, a process can take several weeks.

"There were no external traumatic injuries" like gunshots or stab wounds, she said.

Columbus police said detectives with the missing persons unit spotted LaBute's half-submerged body near the boat launch off Whittier Street near the Scioto Audubon Metro Park.

Police suspected early on that the body was that of LaBute, noting that the clothing fit the description of what LaBute was reportedly wearing when he went missing. But the condition of the body made its immediate identification impossible.

LaBute was last seen at the Union Cafe in the Short North about 12:30 a.m. on March 5.

His car was found near Goodale Street and Michigan Avenue, where he usually parked when visiting the area. That spot is about a quarter-mile east of the Olentangy River, which feeds into the Scioto about a mile downstream. From the confluence of the two rivers, it is another two miles to the spot where LaBute's body was found.

Police have said they don't know where he entered the water.

Hundreds of volunteers had searched the Short North and Arena District at various points during the past month for clues about his disappearance. His family had gathered on the weekends to pass out fliers.

LaBute was a 2011 graduate of Ohio State University and worked at Morgan Stanley. He grew up in the Worthington area until high school, when his family relocated to southwestern Ohio and he switched to Lakota Local Schools.

@Theodore_Decker