BLOOMSBURG - Bath salts were a contributing factor in the death of Trooper David Alan Lynch, whose body was found more than a year ago in the Roaring Creek Tract of Weiser State Forest.
Columbia County Coroner Lori Masteller said Lynch, 34, died from hypothermia due to multiple contributing factors, including the use of bath salts. The cause was listed on Lynch's death certificate issued several months after his death.
In June, state police at Bloomsburg reported toxicology reports were complete in the case, but experts needed to be consulted to determine what the results meant. State police previously said there was no indication of foul play and that Lynch, a resident of Locust Township, Columbia County, likely froze to death.
On Friday morning, state police at Bloomsburg referred an inquiry by The News-Item about the results of the toxicology tests to Masteller.
In a letter to the editor last year, Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Rosini had referenced the possibility that, at the time of his disappearance, Lynch had been using bath salts, a so-called designer drug that has dangerous effects on users but is available legally in many stores and over the Internet. Investigators, however, had never confirmed the information, but the coroner's report does cite it as a contributing factor.
Sales banned
Lynch's body was discovered about 5 p.m. Feb. 2, 2011, on forest property in Conyngham Township, Columbia County. Lynch's pickup truck was discovered in the area two days earlier.
Lynch had been a state trooper since 2006, but he ran afoul of the law and had been scheduled to go to trial on various charges, including resisting arrest and driving under the influence relating to a domestic disturbance in 2009. Court documents revealed Lynch had threatened to kill himself. Another trial involving a DUI from March 2009 also was scheduled.
Lynch, an All-State football player at Mahanoy Area High School, earned a Division I scholarship to play football at Duke University, where he graduated with a degree in history.
Since Lynch's death, and that of Justin Boyles, of Milton, whose body was found Feb. 12, 2011, in a wooded area of Coal Township and whose death was also linked to bath salts, municipalities in eastern Northumberland County have passed ordinances banning the sale or possession of the product. A state law banning the sale of bath salts and other synthetic drugs and adding them to the list of controlled substances took effect in August.
Effects of the use of bath salts - not at all like those used in a relaxing tub bath - include severe paranoia, hallucinations and racing heart rates. They possess a chemical makeup similar to that of ecstasy and methamphetamine, and likely have long-term health effects.