The Roanoke Times | File

Fred Hutchins, whose body was found Tuesday morning in Botetourt County, had been running U.S. Sen. Jim Webb's office in Roanoke County.

Frederick W. Hutchins Jr.

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Authorities investigated the mysteries surrounding the death of U.S. Senate aide Fred Hutchins on Wednesday, a day after his body was found beside his sport utility vehicle on U.S. 220 near Fincastle.

"We're just working to let the evidence go wherever it goes," said Botetourt County Sheriff's Maj. Delbert Dudding. One of his deputies obtained a search warrant to look through the downtown Roanoke apartment of Hutchins, who was 26 and ran U.S. Sen. Jim Webb's office in Roanoke County. According to the search warrant, potential evidence was sought that might exist in Hutchins' computer, his cellphone, his answering machine and his camera. The investigation was also aimed at personal documents, including notes and bank records.

A handgun was found beneath Hutchins' body early Tuesday, but law enforcement officials said they still weren't able to conclude whether the incident was a suicide or the result of foul play. Hutchins' body was discovered by a sheriff's deputy just after 7 a.m. Tuesday on the shoulder of the southbound lane of U.S. 220. Hutchins' vehicle was pointed south. Authorities have confirmed that he had a gunshot wound to the head.

On Wednesday, Dudding declined to discuss details of the death scene or any evidence that might have been found there -- such as whether Hutchins left a note or if the gun that was found was registered to him. Hutchins had obtained a concealed weapons permit in 2004.

Friends and associates wondered where Hutchins had been in the early hours of Tuesday, and none, to this point, has been able to determine where he had been or where he was going. And if the gunshot wound was self inflicted, they questioned why the apparently happy and successful political operative would have taken his own life. Friends said he had recently complained of migraine headaches, but they stopped short of linking the malady to his death.

Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, with whom Hutchins worked closely as a campaign manager and legislative aide, declined to speculate about the cause of his death. He said Hutchins often had early morning appointments and breakfast meetings. "It wouldn't be inconceivable that he was out early for a meeting," Ware said.

Ware said that Hutchins had suffered from migraines for years and had told him of being under a doctor's care for them in June. "I think we're caught between trying to say whether he's depressed or if it was something else. I'm searching myself," he said.

Hutchins' mood seemed buoyant Saturday night, when socializing at Corned Beef & Co., a downtown Roanoke restaurant and bar, said Craig Wright, host of the Cox Channel 9 television show "In The News." Hutchins was a regular guest on the show, Wright said. "He seemed fabulous" on Saturday and at other times the two met lately, Wright said.

But Wright is among those who recalled Hutchins' complaining recently of a "horrible" migraine.

Some researchers have linked migraines to suicide, not as a cause, but rather as a symptom that is sometimes reported in the days or weeks before victims take their lives. "Many suicide victims report severe headaches or backaches not long before their death," said Dan Reidenberg, a psychologist in Bloomington, Minn., who studies depression and other factors in suicide.

But Wright said that despite Hutchins' migraine complaint, "I can't imagine Fred not wanting to be around during this political season. He was a passionate Democrat, and I think he was looking forward to jumping up and down in November," because he expected Barack Obama to be elected president.

Webb spoke about Hutchins' death Wednesday afternoon on the Senate floor, calling him "one of the most honest and friendly people" that he had ever met.

"I had always assumed that Freddie Hutchins would be running for elective office in the near future," said Webb, who extended his sympathies to his late aide's family.

Jill Deegan, the Botetourt County assistant commonwealth's attorney assigned to the case, said late Wednesday that her office hadn't yet received information from the Medical Examiner's Office in Roanoke about the cause of death.

As for the sheriff's investigators searching Hutchins' apartment, she said, "That's just sort of standard operating procedure in a case like this. You're just looking for whatever you can."

On Hutchins' Internet Facebook page, he left behind a list of his personal information. It includes his favorite things, such as DVDs of Dean Martin "Celebrity Roasts" televised in the 1970s. Hutchins wrote: "I found all 59 roasts on 12 DVDs on Ebay. My life is now complete. Some of the funniest stuff ever."

A devoted golfer, he described on Facebook his dream to one day play the course in Augusta, Ga., that's home to the professional Masters tournament: "Please God let me play there before I die."

Hutchins' uncle, the Rev. Bob Hutchins, pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Troutville, said funeral arrangements weren't complete on Wednesday. But he said the service will be held at his church. "Fred was a member there. Most of his friends are from around here."

Staff writer Courtney Cutright contributed to this report.