Death investigation underway; 2 men in custody

The Dauphin County Coroner’s Office is currently investigating the cause of death for a Schuylkill County man whose body was transported to Millersburg and placed in Seal Park the night of June 22.

Meanwhile, two men, also both from Schuylkill County, are in the county prison on charges of lying to police about the circumstances surrounding the circumstances under which the man was found.

State police at Lykens issued this report the afternoon of June 23:

• At about 7 p.m. June 22, William D. Allen, 24, of Pottsville, called ‘911’ to report than a man was ‘‘unresponsive in the park.’’

• Fire and emergency medical services arrived ar the scene and determined that the man was dead. He was identified as Steven T. Middleton, 23, of Girardville.

• A police investigation – including interviews, video surveillance from a nearby business and physical evidence at the scene, led to the arrest of Allen and a second man, Kyle A. Knapp, no age given, of Shenandoah.

• Allen and Knapp are accused of driving to Seal Park and removing Middleton’s body from their vehicle and placing it on the property. They then ‘‘removed the vehicle from the scene, fabricated a timeline of events and details of Middleton’s death to investigators,’’ a news release said. The suspect vehicle is a 2019 Nissan Rogue, silver in color, TN registration 11S72C7.

Police said an autopsy was performed on Middleton by the county coroner the morning of June 23. ‘‘Middleton’s death is currently undetermined and the death investigation is ongoing,’’ a news release said.

Allen and Knapp remain in the county prison on $100,000 and $50,000 bail, respectively.

Both are charged at this time with misdemeanor abuse of corpse and tampering with/fabricating physical evidence.

Police said anyone with information, video surveillance or eyewitness accounts of the incident are asked to contact PSP-Lykens, Criminal Investigation Unit, by phone at 717-362-8700; or by text to the CIU Crime Tip Line at 717-943-5402.

Updates to this case will be posted as information is made available.