(KAIR)--New details are made public regarding the cause of a death of a Silver Lake man, whose body was found in January in Jackson County. 

Sheriff Tim Morse says the findings regarding the death of 32-year-old Jon Paul Sumpter come in the way of now released preliminary autopsy reports. “A preliminary report indicates that the main cause of death is going to be hypothermia from exposure to the elements. When his body was found, it was not wearing a shirt.” 

Sumpter's body was found on the afternoon of January 31st by a hunter who was on foot in a wooded area about ½ mile south of Nebo State Fishing Lake, 2 miles southwest of Larkinburg. A stolen vehicle, believed to have been driven by Sumpter as part of a December 24th Topeka kidnapping he was alleged to have committed, was recovered in December by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office approximately ¾ of a mile from where his body was found. “We recovered the stolen vehicle on the 25th of December, Christmas Day, in the area of 214th and Y.” 

Morse says that while toxicology reports are still being awaited, it appears alleged meth use by Sumpter may have played into his death. “Individuals will become hyperthermic and will disrobe sometimes due to the methamphetamine in their system.” 

Morse says the initial findings indicate Sumpter had died weeks before his body was discovered.