CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Kanawha County man was found dead at a home Wednesday afternoon after an apparent heroin overdose, authorities said.
Deputies located the body of Andrew Osborne, 59, of Loudendale, inside a Beech Street house after speaking with local homeowners about his disappearance Saturday.
Osborne’s family members found his 1993 Volvo station wagon parked behind a residence on Smith Creek Road in Charleston on Wednesday morning. The relatives called 911 and waited for deputies to arrive.
“Having the assistance of some extra eyes and ears out there, gathering information and looking and helping out in that way—they handled that appropriately,” said Sgt. Brian Humphreys with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.
The discovery of the car led deputies to obtain a search warrant inside the home where they found Susan Greiser, 30, of Charleston, who was charged with grand larceny auto for admitting she stole Osborne’s car.
According to a news release, Greiser said she was picked up in Osborne’s vehicle on the city’s West Side where the two then bought heroin and brought it back to the Beech Street home to use.
Osborne allegedly allowed Greiser to borrow his car to go to a nearby store, but Greiser admitted she had no intention of returning the car.
“She knew that she was not going to come back with it. She intentionally stole it. It wasn’t joy riding. She was hoping to take advantage of his kindness and take off with the car,” said Humphreys.
Deputies recovered drug paraphernalia that led them to believe a drug overdose was a possible cause of death, which Humphreys called a tough ending for the family.
“Nobody’s happy when this is the outcome, but I think at least knowing what happened is better than not knowing what happened,” he said.
Osborne’s body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office for autopsy.
Greiser was arrested and taken to the South Central Regional Jail.