Coroner withholds results of Deshler man's autopsy

3/21/2001

DESHLER - The Henry County coroner said last night he will release no information about the suicide of a Deshler man “until the investigation is complete.”

Richard Burner, 65, hanged himself in the barn behind his home early Monday, according to Henry County Sheriff John Nye.

Days before, Mr. Burner had been the subject of a nine-day search after he disappeared March 5 while getting hay for his horses at a neighbor's barn.

Family members speculated that he had hit his head while descending a ladder from the hayloft because they found his toupee, gloves, and some bloodied paper towels at the barn.

Dr. Marek Skoskiewicz, Henry County coroner, would not comment on the autopsy conducted yesterday by the Lucas County coroner's office.

He said he does not have the report and the investigation is ongoing.

“There will be no information released until the investigation is complete,” he said.

Mr. Burner was found at a retail store in Van Wert March 14 when a woman who had seen a flyer about his disappearance saw his car in the parking lot and called police. He was reunited with his wife, son, and daughter, then spent two days undergoing tests at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center.

He had been at home over the weekend when his wife discovered he was not in the house about 6 a.m. Monday. She found his body in the barn.