Published: November 25, 2009 01:04 am      

Death of man ruled drowning

Colfax — Drowning has been determined as the cause of death of 77-year-old Howard Davis.

Davis died Monday evening while fishing in a pond on his property just west of Old Mill Run Park near Thorntown. The property has a Colfax address. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office investigated the death and reported the cause Tuesday evening.

The sheriff’s office, Thorntown/Sugar Creek firefighters and other emergency response agencies were called to the pond about 6 p.m. after Davis’ wife, Sylvia, found him lying face down in the pond. She told investigators that he had been fishing at the pond earlier in the afternoon. When he did not return home she called him and then went to check on him. When she saw he was in the pond she called 9-1-1.

The BCSO report noted that it appeared Mr. Davis fell out of his lawn chair on the bank of the pond. It has not yet been determined if the fall was caused by a medical issue, but family members told investigators that Davis had been in declining health.

Myers Mortuary in Lebanon is handling funeral arrangements.