Bert T. Combs; Former Governor of Kentucky
The body of former Gov. Bert T. Combs was discovered in a rain-swollen river Wednesday, several hours after he was reported missing.
Combs, 80, who was governor from 1959 to 1963, remained a leading figure on Kentucky’s political scene until his death. Stanton police confirmed that Combs’ body was found in the Red River more than a half-mile downstream from where the former governor’s car was found earlier.
The 1990-model Buick was submerged in four or five feet of water, state trooper Lon Fields said.
The former governor was reported missing when he failed to arrive at his cabin in Powell County in eastern Kentucky. He had driven to the area from his Lexington law office.
Authorities believe Combs tried to drive across a flooded road, which residents said was under nearly five feet of swiftly moving water. The site was about four miles from Combs’ cabin, and a short distance from a four-lane highway that bears his name--the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway.
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