Tragic death: Russ Kurth, 63, an elected member of Harrison County Board of Supervisors, died after being buried alive underneath an avalanche of corn
A western Iowa county supervisor has died after being buried alive underneath a mound of corn that came spilling out of a faulty grain bin.
Harrison County Sheriff Pat Sears says 63-year-old Russ Kurth, of Logan, lost his life in the freak Tuesday morning accident outside a grain bin just north of Missouri Valley.
Sears say Kurth and another person were inspecting a door from which corn was leaking on the new bin that had been recently filled.
Officials say the door burst open as Kurth and the other man approached, burying Kurth in corn. The other man was able to escape but could not save Kurth.
Firefighters responded to the scene near Kennedy Avenue and Highway 183 outside Sawmill Hollow just after 8am Tuesday and spent an hour looking for Kurth in the pile of corn, reported The Daily Nonpareil.
The 63-year-old man was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Kurth was elected to the Harrison County Board of Supervisors in 2014.
Kurth and another person were inspecting a door from which corn was leaking on a new grain bin near Kennedy Avenue and Highway 183 outside Sawmill Hollow, Iowa (pictured), when the door burst open
Kurth was buried in corn outside the grain bin, but the other person managed to escape alive
He graduated from Iowa State University in 1977 with a degree in animal science, later becoming Harrison County District Conservationist.
In a 2010 interview with The Logan Herald-Observer, Kurth said his favorite part of the job was working with farmers.
‘There’s lots of good, conservation-minded farmers in the county,’ he told the local paper. ‘I’ve enjoyed helping them protect and improve their land.’
Kurth is survived by his wife, Peggy Moffatt, whom he met 40 years ago. According to the husband’s obituary, the couple have three grown sons and eight grandchildren.
Since news of Kurth’s sudden passing broke on Tuesday, there has been an outpouring of grief on social media, where he was universally remembered as a great man and a good friend.
Family man: Kurth (left) is survived by his wife, Peggy Moffatt Kurth (pictured right), whom he met 40 years ago
Patriarch: The Kurth couple have three grown sons and eight grandchildren, one of them pictured above with grandpa Russ