OH OH - Michael Conway, 67, North Ridgeville, 8 Oct 2025

[Orbweaver]

How far is that location in the park from the spot where Carnell Sledge and Kate Brown were murdered? I can’t remember the exact location off the top of my head. I stop by whenever I’m in the area (I live in Central Ohio, but have family in the area).

Not implying a connection at all, just curious. I don’t know the park very well.

That’s really nice of you to stop by their bench when you’re in the area. It's just down the Valley Parkway, 5.6 miles.

There are so many suicides in this stretch of the Metroparks. My property is surrounded by it and backs up to the Rocky River (if you hike through a creek bed). I’ve lived here 2.5 years and Michael going missing is the second time I’ve checked my property for a missing person who was later found deceased. And several more have been found in their cars in that time. It’s kind of a comfort to know that they at least chose to be surrounded by beauty and nature.

 

[Orbweaver]

Can non-residents make an account? I have tried several times, but it always returns an error after I make one and try to login for the first time. I had just assumed the whole website was broken somehow.

It’s been awhile since I made my account but I believe yes, you have to be a resident in that you must enter a Cuyahoga County address as your home address when you make the account.

 

[wendybtn]

If you are a Cuyahoga County resident, you can make an account online and access the Medical Examiners Decent Search page. Michael’s cause and manner of death is not listed yet which often means they are waiting for the toxicology report. Judging by the location his body was found (Cleveland Metroparks picnic area), I would not be surprised if, unfortunately, he committed suicide. I live adjacent to the park, in fact this location is extremely close to my home, and it is a frequent suicide destination.

As for foul play in the news: i check the county decedent search on a regular basis. The homicides being reported on in the news in the Cleveland area are a shockingly low percentage of all the homicides that occur. Although a homicide in the park would make the news.

I have attached the screenshot of his entry in the decedent search (no link as you need a login for access). There was another decedent of the same name in 2013 so I blurred him out. I’ve found the most common reason for a month+ delay in reporting COD is due to it being reliant on toxicology.

Rest in peace, Michael.

My first thought about him visiting the hotel and then the apartment was substance abuse. MOO

 

[somerandoguy]

If you are a Cuyahoga County resident, you can make an account online and access the Medical Examiners Decent Search page. Michael’s cause and manner of death is not listed yet which often means they are waiting for the toxicology report. Judging by the location his body was found (Cleveland Metroparks picnic area), I would not be surprised if, unfortunately, he committed suicide. I live adjacent to the park, in fact this location is extremely close to my home, and it is a frequent suicide destination.

As for foul play in the news: i check the county decedent search on a regular basis. The homicides being reported on in the news in the Cleveland area are a shockingly low percentage of all the homicides that occur. Although a homicide in the park would make the news.

I have attached the screenshot of his entry in the decedent search (no link as you need a login for access). There was another decedent of the same name in 2013 so I blurred him out. I’ve found the most common reason for a month+ delay in reporting COD is due to it being reliant on toxicology.

Rest in peace, Michael.

Did they update the cause of death yet?

 

[Orbweaver]

Did they update the cause of death yet?

Sorry, nothing yet but I’ll keep checking. I imagine it will likely be closer to February before anything posts. Cuyahoga county ME does a lot of pathology work for the surrounding counties so they’re often pretty backed up.

 

[mgeni]

That’s really nice of you to stop by their bench when you’re in the area. It's just down the Valley Parkway, 5.6 miles.

There are so many suicides in this stretch of the Metroparks. My property is surrounded by it and backs up to the Rocky River (if you hike through a creek bed). I’ve lived here 2.5 years and Michael going missing is the second time I’ve checked my property for a missing person who was later found deceased. And several more have been found in their cars in that time. It’s kind of a comfort to know that they at least chose to be surrounded by beauty and nature.

Thank you for the info. It is such a beautiful area. I’ve lived in Ohio my whole life, but had never been in the park until after Sledge’s murder. He was a close friend. Even with the tragedy, the area still feels so peaceful. (Which definitely contributes to the “how could this have happened here?” factor.)

You must have a gorgeous view/back yard!

 

[Orbweaver]

Thank you for the info. It is such a beautiful area. I’ve lived in Ohio my whole life, but had never been in the park until after Sledge’s murder. He was a close friend. Even with the tragedy, the area still feels so peaceful. (Which definitely contributes to the “how could this have happened here?” factor.)

You must have a gorgeous view/back yard!

That must have been such a shock to hear about his death. I’m so sorry. It’s really such a wild and tragic mystery. I’m curious to know if there has been any connection to the guy that killed his neighbor this summer. I can’t remember his name but there were some rumblings about that.

It’s a beautiful area and we got extremely lucky to find a place in our price range (hoarder house, needed a lot of work ). Since living here and following the ME’s decedent list, I’ve picked up on how popular this stretch of park is to commit suicide. It’s sad but it’s also kind of a comfort to know that these people are in a beautiful place in their final moments.

I looked it up and it usually takes about 3-4 months for the toxicology report to come back. I observed an autopsy at the ME’s last summer and the decedent died of a self inflicted gunshot wound about 36 hours prior and his cause and manner of death were posted the day of his autopsy. I also think getting this information can be kind of slow because there are *so* many homicides in the county. It’s mind boggling how much gun violence there is.

I hope I’m not breaking any rules here but if you’d like to make an account to view the decedent list, you have to make sure you enter an in-county address as your home address