Jerry Kopf Obituary, Death – The authorities have made public the identity of the man who was killed in an accident involving a grain bin in Buchanan County last week. The accident occurred in the early part of the week. The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office reports that Jerry Lee Kopf, 67, of Independence, Kansas, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident where he was involved.
Winthrop sheriff’s deputies and firefighters located Kopf on his property in the 1600 block of Nathan Bethel Avenue, which is located to the northeast of Independence, on the afternoon of the previous Wednesday. Kopf was found inside a grain dryer on his property. After his wife had called 911 to report that she couldn’t find him, the video security at the residence revealed that he had gone up into the grain dryer at some point after she had made the call.
It appears that Kopf became trapped behind the grain in the dryer and was unable to free himself, as indicated by the preliminary findings of the investigation. The investigation into what occurred is still ongoing at this point. In Iowa, there were two fatal accidents involving grain bins that occurred over the preceding week. This is one of those instances.
