Found Body May Be That Of Former Mentor-On-The-Lake City Council President

The on Marine Parkway Sunday had decomposed to the point where it was not immediately identifiable, Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Chief John Gielink said.

And while the Lake County Coroner's Office has not yet officially identified who the body is, it is thought to be former Mentor-on-the-Lake Councilwoman Diane Stroud.

Diane and and her husband, Gary Stroud, shared the house on Marine Parkway. in Lake County Jail and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday morning in .

Diane Stroud was on city council from 1996 to 2003, including one year as council president.

Gary Stroud is a former Mentor Police officer who retired from the department more than five years ago. Since then, he has worked for the Lake County Sheriff's Office part time as a special deputy.

He provided court security, helped deliver papers, escorted clerical employees to the bank and did other odd jobs, Dunlap said.

The sheriff added that Stroud did not have a history of violence at the department.

"There were never any serious problems with him," Dunlap said. "A couple of times he left his post early but that was addressed."

Stroud was laid off by the department in September -- not because he was remiss in his work but because of financial necessities, Dunlap said.

Stroud's house was foreclosed on in October, according to Lake County Court of Common Pleas records, but it has not been sold yet.

Mentor-on-the-Lake Police were called to Stroud's house because of the body at about 8 p.m. Sunday.

The body was taken to the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Officer where it underwent an autopsy Monday. No cause of death has been identified yet.

While at the house, police gave two house pets to family members. Several chickens that were kept in Stroud's back yard were given to the .

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