In retirement, Abel plans to keep right on working

Retirement marks a significant change in a person’s life — unless the plan is to keep working. After 26 years of service, detective Alex Abel is retiring from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office; however, he isn’t embracing it. After a few weeks off, he will begin a new chapter of his career as an investigator for the Wayne County Coroner’s Office.

Abel started his career working in the jail before moving to road patrol and has seen a lot of changes over the years, like the use of technology.

“When I first started on the road, if you wanted to talk to a sergeant or to dispatch, you would have to drive around and find a pay phone, radio dispatch, and have them call the payphone number,” Abel said. “Technology has been the most significant change I have seen. Everything is done on a computer now in the car.”

Another change Abel has grown to embrace is the use of body cameras by law enforcement.

“Now everybody wants to see the video,” he said. “We can provide video evidence that backs up the report.”

Abel will take some of the memories with him as he changes roles.

“The most important case I feel that I worked on was when a family member was sexually abusing a handicapped girl and the guy ended up going to prison,” Abel said. “I was off duty one day, and I was using the bank machine. I heard ‘Hey Alex,’ and it was her. She hugged me and thanked me for what I did to help her. That takes precedence over any other case that I worked on.”

While the sheriff’s office will miss Abel, Wayne County Coroner’s Office chief investigator Luke Reynolds will welcome him with open arms.

“We were looking to hire someone with investigative experience,” Reynolds said. “It takes a great deal of expertise to do what we do. It takes the same skill set as a detective, but we focus on cases where the cause of death is uncertain.”

An investigator for the coroner’s office documents any injuries or trauma on the body, collects samples for further analysis and secures the scene to preserve the integrity of the evidence. Additionally, investigators collaborate with other experts like forensic pathologists, toxicologists and law-enforcement agencies to ensure a comprehensive investigation.

Reynolds said the coroner’s office fields from 300-400 calls per year, and they are on call 24/7 all year. In addition to Reynolds, Abel will be the second full-time employee in the office, along with approximately eight part-time investigators.

Dan Starcher is the public communications coordinator for the Wayne County government.