Man pulled from Caldwell canal was in area due to flat tire, coroner says

A 57-year-old man was found dead in Caldwell canal Tuesday afternoon, and Canyon County officials are working to determine what caused his death.

The man was identified as Charles Edward Webster, said Canyon County Coroner Vicki DeGeus-Morris.

A pathologist will examine Webster’s body on Thursday.

His driver’s license says he lives in Meridian but DeGeus-Morris said she was told he might have a more current address in Caldwell.

Emergency personnel were called to a report of a man in a canal near Griffiths Park at about 4 p.m.

DeGeus-Morris said police told her that Webster was riding his motorcycle near the park when he got a flat tire. He called a friend to come help him. When his friend was loading the motorcycle on a trailer, Webster reportedly wandered off.

“The friend turned around, and he wasn’t there,” DeGeus-Morris said.

Police said they believed Webster might have been trying to pick something up near the canal when he fell in. He had been drinking, DeGeus-Morris said.

Webster’s body was recovered by the Ada County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team.

The Associated Press contributed.

This story was originally published October 4, 2017 at 2:17 PM with the headline "Man pulled from Caldwell canal was in area due to flat tire, coroner says."