---
title: "Lansing River Trail Death Ruled Indeterminate"
url: https://www.herelansing.com/2026/10/15/river-trail-death-ruled-indeterminate-oct14/
date: 2026-10-15T06:55:56-04:00
modified: 2026-10-15T06:55:56-04:00
author: "Carter C. Zielinski"
categories: ["News"]
site: "HERE Lansing"
attribution: "HERE Lansing"
---

# Lansing River Trail Death Ruled Indeterminate

> LANSING, Mich. — Lansing police said Wednesday that Ingham County's medical examiner labeled Denis Dunnebacke's summer death along the River Trail as indeterminate, leaving cause unresolved. Dunnebacke, 70, was discovered July 9 beneath the Kalamazoo Street bridge with facial injuries and still breathing. He died a week later, on July 16, during treatment. Detectives have

*Source: [HERE Lansing](https://www.herelansing.com/2026/10/15/river-trail-death-ruled-indeterminate-oct14/) — October 15, 2026 by Carter C. Zielinski*

LANSING, Mich. — Lansing police said Wednesday that Ingham County’s medical examiner labeled Denis Dunnebacke’s summer death along the River Trail as indeterminate, leaving cause unresolved.

Dunnebacke, 70, was discovered July 9 beneath the Kalamazoo Street bridge with facial injuries and still breathing. He died a week later, on July 16, during treatment. Detectives have weighed assault against a medical collapse.

The file stays open and is treated as suspicious. Across five River Trail deaths of unhoused men dating to October 2025, three are homicides and two — Dunnebacke plus Gino Chouinard — now carry indeterminate examiner findings.

Chief Robert Backus said at an Oct. 2 briefing that detectives notice shared traits such as overnight hours and head trauma, yet have not proved a single attacker links every case.

Extra patrols and portable cameras are already covering stretches of the path. Officials say work on the Dunnebacke file continues.