Next Year's Darwin Award Winners?

[daepp]

[RWebb]

one for 2013:

A Linn County man was electrocuted after he allegedly broke into a closed mill and attempted to steal copper wiring, according to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.

Hood Lumber employees went to the former Young & Morgan Mill, which has not been operational for some time, about 10 a.m. Tuesday to oversee removal of equipment from the building, Undersheriff Bruce Riley said. The employees told deputies that they smelled a slight odor of smoke, looked around, but didn’t find any fire.

“A couple of hours later, around noon, they began to see burning embers in the air and upon closer inspection, found a small fire in the upstairs portion at the north end of the building,” the sheriff’s office said today. “They called 9-1-1 and extinguished the fire. While doing so, they discovered the remains of a severely burned human body.”

The victim was later identified as Dustin Joe Harris, 36, of Lyons.

The sheriff’s office said that an investigation determined that “during the early morning hours, Harris, acting alone, forced his way into the west end of the building by kicking in a wooden wall panel. Upon gaining entry, he attempted to steal copper wire from an electrical panel board. The panel board is equipped with 480 volt, 3-phase service.

“Harris was electrocuted while trying to steal wire, which is also what caused the fire. His body was found 16 feet from the panel and articles of his clothing were found 30 feet away.”