PANAMA CITY — A former alligator trapper and avid outdoorsman, Bay County’s interim medical examiner could go on to be the youngest person to hold the office.
Dr. Jay Michael Radtke, 36, was brought on as the interim chief medical examiner a little more than a week ago from the Dade County Medical Examiner’s Officer where he served three years as an associate medical examiner. His predecessor, Dr. Michael Hunter, held the position as the youngest medical examiner in the 14th Circuit Medical Examiner’s Office — he was 37 at the time.
Radtke, originally of Naples, said he decided to take the position because the Bay County region held similar attributes to his homestead, as far as population density and the surrounding ecosystem.
“I wanted to move somewhere slower paced,” he said. “Somewhere more like home.”
To Radtke, the most appealing aspect of the area is the multiple opportunities for outdoor activities — such as hunting and fishing. A slender guy with a large, bushy beard, Radtke said back home and in Miami he had previously been an alligator trapper and also dabbled in taxidermy.
One area of forensic pathology under-recognized as an issue in communities Radtke thought should be highlighted were issues with cardiac disease in young kids. Many deaths of children from cardiac disease are preventable, he said.
“A lot of times it is genetic,” Radtke said. “To have a diagnosis of that early on in older family members is important to saving lives.”
Radtke was hired on an interim basis as the new medical examiner until the governor appoints a permanent medical examiner. The job is crucial to solving criminal cases in the six counties across the Panhandle encompassing the 14th Circuit. State Attorney Glenn Hess recommended Radtke to the position following the departure of Hunter after seven years for a position at the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office.
Radtke has experience at the Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine, Jackson Memorial Hospital/Jackson Health System and the Dade County Office of Medical Examiner.