YOUNGSTOWN - A missing school administrator was found dead Tuesday near his vehicle beside the lower Niagara River at the bottom of an embankment.

Arnold Barnett, 57, of Lockport was reported missing by his wife after failing to return home from the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, where he had spent Wednesday evening.

State police investigators said fishermen spotted Barnett's car Tuesday at the river's edge in Youngstown. His body was found about 100 feet away.

Barnett, director of special education in the Pembroke School District, was seen on video walking out of the casino and driving away Thursday.

Investigators said preliminary findings indicate that Barnett drove past a stop sign at a T intersection in the village, jumped a curb, and plunged about 50 feet down a bank.

It appears he may have left his car to get help, collapsed, and succumbed to exposure.

"There are still a lot of questions," Senior Investigator Craig Wing said. He said it appears to have been an accident.

The investigation is continuing.