WSU professor found dead in Pullman pond

Police in Pullman say the body of Washington State University history professor Scott Stratton, 51, has been found in a pond at Sunnyside Park. Police found the body early Wednesday morning. The WSU website lists Stratton as an instructor in the history department who received his Ph.D. from Arizona State University in 2007. His area of expertise was American history from the Civil War era through to 1960s counterculture. Stratton’s family reported him missing Tuesday night after his dog, Mojo, came home from a walk without him, Pullman Police Commander Chris Tennant said. Police searched overnight and found the man floating in a park pond around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. The Whitman County coroner has tentatively ruled the death an accident and police say there is no suspicion of foul play. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death, Tennant said.