Submersion cases: a retrospective study--1988-1990

According to the studied material the majority of the bodies found submersed in water (in the area covered by this report) were predominantly those of Caucasian males between 20 and 40 years of age, probably sober and without drug consumption when they entered the water. The majority of the cases were recovered from the water in the late spring and early summer and many of them were in different stages of decomposition which made the diagnosis of drowning impossible. The diagnosis of the cause and manner of death in such cases requires a complex interpretation of all investigative evidence and a logical approach in each case in particular.