Iraq Releases Body Of Oklahoman After Dispute - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

The body of an Oklahoman who was found dead in Baghdad earlier this month is on his way back to the U.S. after a two-week bureaucratic debate over whether the Iraqi government would perform an autopsy on his remains.

Officials say Michael David Copeland, 37, was a contractor working for the U.S. government.

He died on June 9, 2012.

Copeland had been working for the DynaCorp International at Baghdad's airport when he died.

The State Department has told the family that Iraqi leaders believe Copeland died of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), but the Copeland family said that is not possible.

6/19/2012 Related Story: Iraq Refuses To Release Body Of Oklahoma Man

Iraq agreed to release the remains of the Oklahoma man after negotiations with the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

His body was flown out of Iraq Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.