Reagan-Bush Honcho Found Murdered in Landfill

John Wheeler III, 66, last seen on Amtrak train
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 3, 2011 4:58 PM CST
Former Reagan-Bush Honcho Found Murdered in Landfill
This image provided by the Newark Police Department shows a man identified by police as 66-year-old John Wheeler III, whose body was found at a landfill in Wilmington, Del. on New Year's Eve.   (AP Photo/Newark Police Department)

Police searched for clues today in the death of John Wheeler III, a veteran of the Reagan and first Bush administrations who also helped lead efforts to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The body of Wheeler, 66, was discovered on New Year's Eve as a garbage truck emptied its contents at a Wilmington, Del., landfill. His death has been ruled a homicide. "He was just not the sort of person who would wind up in a landfill," says Wheeler's attorney.

Wheeler retired from the military in 1971 and lived in Delaware state. The former Army officer reportedly was last seen Dec. 28, riding an Amtrak train from Washington to Wilmington. Police have determined that all the stops made Friday by the garbage truck before it arrived at the landfill involved large commercial disposal bins, several miles from Wheeler's home. Click for more background on John Wheeler III.
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