Baker, Judge.
Kenneth Scales filed a petition for access to public records, seeking documents from the Warrick County Sheriff’s Department (the Department) related to the disappearance and death of his daughter, Kristy Kelley. The Department moved for summary judgment, arguing that the records to which Scales sought access were investigatory records that the Department could withhold at its discretion. The trial court ruled in favor of the Department, and Scales now appeals. Finding that the documents are not investigatory records as described by our General Assembly, and consequently, that they may not be withheld from public disclosure at the Department’s discretion, we reverse and remand with instructions.
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On or about August 15, 2014, Kelley went missing. … Local law enforcement opened a missing person’s investigation. Shortly thereafter, the FBI, the Indiana State Police, and the Boonville Police Department became involved. … At all times, law enforcement referred to and classified Kelley’s case as a missing person’s investigation and not as a criminal investigation. The agencies worked together to acquire evidence, conduct interviews with potential witnesses, and gather documents. Sheriff Brett Kruse represented the Department throughout the entirety of the investigation. No criminal charges were ever filed.
More than one month later, on September 16, 2014, law enforcement discovered Kelley’s vehicle at the bottom of a lake, with her body in the backseat. The vehicle had significant damage to the front end, the keys were found on Kelley’s person and not in the ignition, and there were no signs of foul play. Less than twenty-four hours after Kelley’s body was found, the coroner issued a report declaring that Kelley’s death was the result of accidental asphyxiation caused by drowning. The Department closed its investigation.
On September 26, 2017, Scales filed a petition for access to records pursuant to the Indiana Access to Public Records Act (APRA). Specifically, Scales sought information related to the missing person’s investigation surrounding Kelley’s disappearance, discovery, and accidental death. …
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On November 8, 2017, Sheriff Kruse responded to the petition for access to records and the subpoena duces tecum with the following affidavit:
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2. In my capacity as Sheriff, I have received public records requests from Kenneth Scales (or representatives on his behalf) for access to certain law enforcement investigatory records generated and retained by my office following the disappearance of his daughter, Kristyn Kelley, on or about August 15, 2014. I have declined to provide those records to the requestor based on Indiana’s Public Records Act that grants to a law enforcement agency discretion whether to release such records.
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…On June 13, 2018, the trial court granted the Department’s motion for summary judgment. Scales now appeals.
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While the general rule is that government documents are open to public access, there are exceptions. The exception relevant to this case is found in section 5-14-3-4(b):
(b) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (a), the following public records shall be excepted from section 3 of this chapter at the discretion of a public agency:
(1) Investigatory records of law enforcement agencies or private university police departments. . . .
(Emphasis added). Therefore, if a member of the public requests access to the investigatory records of a law enforcement agency, the agency has discretion to grant or deny that request.
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The APRA defines investigatory records as “information compiled in the course of the investigation of a crime.” I.C. § 5-14-3-2(i). The rules of statutory interpretation mandate that we assign words their plain and ordinary meaning unless the statute provides specific definitions. Montgomery v. State, 878 N.E.2d 262, 266 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). Here, the APRA’s definition of investigatory records preempts any plain and ordinary meaning of the word “investigatory.” The documents in contention must have been accumulated in the course of the investigation of a crime. If there is no criminal investigation, the documents cannot be withheld at the police or sheriff’s department’s discretion pursuant to the investigatory records exception.
In this instance, there was no criminal investigation, and the Department conceded to this fact numerous times. The record shows that at all times, law enforcement from the FBI, the Indiana State Police, and the Boonville Police Department referred to and classified Kelley’s case as a missing person’s investigation. No criminal indictments or informations were ever issued in the case, and Sheriff Kruse, in his role as representative of the Department, even concluded that “I consulted with the Prosecutor during the course of the investigation and it was ultimately determined in 2014 that there was insufficient evidence produced by the investigation to charge any individual with a crime[.]” Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 18. The fact that the coroner’s office declared Kelley’s death an accidental death just twenty-four hours after her corpse was discovered reinforces the fact that there was no criminal investigation. Therefore, we can only conclude that the Department did not have the statutory authority to withhold Kelley’s file pursuant to the investigatory records exception.
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… The APRA provides a precise definition of investigatory records. The Department and all law enforcement personnel connected with Kelley’s missing person’s investigation clearly stated that this was not a criminal investigation, and the coroner’s office’s report resolutely determined that there were no criminal circumstances surrounding Kelley’s accidental death after just twenty-four hours. Thus, the documents related to her disappearance and death are not investigatory records as defined by our General Assembly.
Accordingly, our inquiry ends there. Because the Department has failed to meet its burden to show that the documents Scales sought fell under the APRA’s investigatory records exception, its invocation of this exception fails as a matter of law. We reverse the trial court’s order and remand with instructions to enter judgment in Scales’s favor.
The judgment of the trial court is reversed and remanded with instructions.
May, J., and Brown, J., concur.