Pa. horsemen official found dead

A body found in the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg, Pa., on Sunday has been identified as that of a missing employee of the Pennsylvania Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association who was under investigation for accounting fraud, state officials announced on Tuesday.

The body of Matthew Carter, 35, was found just after 2 p.m. on Sunday near a parking lot at City Island, the coroner said in a release. The coroner’s statement said that Carter’s death was caused by “freshwater drowning” and that there were “no suspicious circumstances” surrounding the death.

Carter went missing in February, shortly after officials of the Pennsylvania HBPA confronted him over “accounting irregularities” with the organization’s funds. Carter was the treasurer of the organization.

Pennsylvania HBPA officials had acknowledged on Monday that they had contacted the police about the irregularities, and that the police had opened an investigation. On Tuesday, the organization released a statement saying it would have no comment on the discovery of Carter's body.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Carter family,” the statement said.

Carter was a 2009 graduate of the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program. He was first hired by the Pennsylvania HBPA in 2010 as an executive assistant.