Alcohol suspected as factor in death of Ohio university student

By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Authorities suspect alcohol was a factor in the death of an Ohio university senior found by student volunteers outside a parking garage after a campus-wide search, police said on Monday. David Hallman, 21, was reported missing by his father on Saturday afternoon after the Denison University student missed a noon appointment and did not answer his cell phone, said police in Granville, Ohio, where Denison is located. Hallman, who was from Erie, Pennsylvania, was last seen leaving a bar early Saturday about one-half mile from where his body was found on Saturday night, police said. Temperatures were at or minus-1 degree Fahrenheit (minus-18 degrees Celsius) early Saturday in Granville, which is about 30 miles east of Columbus, Ohio. "Alcohol is suspected of being a factor in the case," Granville police said in a statement. No foul play is suspected, they said, adding that an autopsy was performed on Monday. The cause of Hallman's death has not been determined and toxicology tests could take several weeks, police said. Hallman was majoring in history and minoring in economics. "This is tragic, but the strength of our community lies in how we come together in times like these," Denison President Adam Weinberg told students. (Reporting by Kim Palmer; Editing by David Bailey and Dan Grebler)