911 call reveals more details about body found in Mentor-on-the-Lake garage

MENTOR-ON-THE-LAKE, Ohio - A 911 call made from the Mentor-on-the-Lake home where a woman’s body was discovered Sunday night reveals more details about the case.

The call came in from 5610 Marine Parkway just after 8 p.m. from 57-year-old Gary Stroud’s daughter, who wanted to alert authorities of something she saw in her garage.

Here is a transcript of the call:

DISPATCHER: “911 what is your emergency?”

CALLER: “Hi. I need an officer to go to 5610 Marine Parkway.”

DISPATCHER: “OK. What’s going on?”

CALLER: “I am not sure, but I think there’s either a dead animal or whatever in my garage. I would like for an officer to go look, please. Quickly.”

DISPATCHER: “Did you see it?”

CALLER: “It’s in a tarp. It’s either a dog or backyard chicken. But I don’t know. Can you just have them look?”

DISPATCHER: “So you have a dead dog in your garage?”

CALLER: “It’s something.”

Listen to the call here (we removed the caller’s name and cell phone number):

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Mentor-on-the-Lake police did not initially release how they were notified about the body, and did not say it was in a tarp.

Gary Stroud, a retired Mentor police officer and former part-time guard with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, was arrested a short time after MOL police arrived at the scene and discovered the body inside the garage. During a hearing Tuesday, he did not enter a plea to charges of murder, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. He did plead not guilty to failing to report a death, which is a misdemeanor crime.

Police said the body has not yet been positively identified, but the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office said the body is an adult female.

Mentor-on-the-Lake Councilman Troy Elam said the body could be Gary Stroud’s wife, Diane, who served as the city’s council president several years ago. Elam said he was shocked to learn that Diane Stroud may be dead, saying “she always had the city’s best interest at heart.”

The Strouds' neighbor told NewsChannel5 it's been a "couple of months" since he's seen Diane, but added that the Strouds kept to themselves.

Gary Stroud is being held in the Lake County Jail on a $1 million bond.

Keep checking newsnet5.com for more information.