Photo by Alan Olson This home at 161 Boone Hedges Road is where Caleb Smail was found dead Wednesday night.

WHEELING — The death of 19-year-old Caleb Smail is being investigated as a homicide, Ohio County Sheriff Thomas Howard said Friday.

Deputies found Smail, a 2018 Wheeling Park High School graduate who also attended The Linsly School, dead at a home on Boone Hedges Road about 9 p.m. Wednesday. Howard said Smail was shot to death.

The West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy Friday, Howard said, noting “while we are awaiting the final written results from the Medical Examiner’s Office, we are treating the matter as a homicide and the investigation is ongoing. We will release further information when it is available.”

Smail’s family and friends are organizing a candlelight vigil set for 7 p.m. Saturday at Wheeling’s waterfront.