WEST BEND, Wis. — A Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Forestry employee was found dead from a lightning strike after not returning home earlier this week.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office reported that 48-year-old Adam Zirbel from Plymouth was working in the New Fane Trail area Monday when he went missing. The sheriff's office and Kewaskum Fire Department were called in Monday evening to help with a search already underway.
His vehicle was found in Fond du Lac County, and a search began near the Washington County/Fond du Lac County line.
Zirbel was located deceased in a wooded area at around 7:40 p.m. Monday in the Town of Kewaskum. An investigation determined that a lightning strike caused the death. Investigators have verified that there was a documented lightning strike in that area around 10:15 a.m. that morning.
The United States averages around 20 deaths per year related to lightning strikes, according to the sheriff's office.
Although extremely rare, this case illustrates the need to take the threat of lightning and the dangers it poses seriously," the sheriff's office said in a press release.
"Adam was a dedicated and instrumental part of the DNR’s Division of Forestry for 13 years," a Wisconsin DNR spokesperson told TMJ4. "In that time, he planted millions of trees on the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, was part of various state incident management teams, and served as mentor to many foresters. He will be greatly missed. We appreciate the support of local law enforcement and DNR staff through this."
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