The Ames Police Department has identified Mitchell Odell of Cedar Rapids as the man who fell to his death from a fourth floor balcony at 2519 Chamberlain St. Saturday morning. 

According to a news release, the cause of Odell’s death was “multiple blunt force trauma received as a result of the fall.”

Cmdr. Jim Robinson of the Ames Police said Odell had come to Ames with friends to visit friends for Veishea. Robinson said Odell was out on the fourth floor balcony with friends when he fell.

“From eyewitness interviews, it appears like the fall was due to overt actions on [Odell’s] part,” Robinson said. “It wasn’t like he just fell off the balcony.”

Robinson would not explain what Odell’s overt actions were because he said it was still an active investigation. 

According to a Des Moines Register article, Tanner Setka, an University of Iowa student, said Odell was sitting on the balcony wall and fell backward. 

Robinson said he does not know if Odell was intoxicated when he fell and an autopsy must be done first to figure that out. However, Robinson said eyewitness interviews support that Odell was likely intoxicated when he fell. 

“To our understanding, it was likely that alcohol was involved,” Robinson said.