Investigation continues into falling death of Newton man

The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the falling death of a rural Newton man. Larry Van Wyngarden, 66, appears to have fallen to his death from a feed trailer in rural Marshall County.

Marshall County Sheriff Steve Hoffman said local law enforcement and first responders were called to the 3000 block of Marsh Avenue in rural Haverhill at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday after receiving a report of an unresponsive man found on the ground near a feed trailer.

The man, identified as Van Wyngarden, was pronounced dead at the scene.

“He was delivering feed at a pork facility,” Hoffman said. “The preliminary indications show he fell but that can be from any number of causes. We don’t know at this point if he slipped and fell or it certainly could have been from another medical emergency at the time that led to his fall.”

Hoffman said Van Wyngarden received a significant injury to his head from the fall which is estimated to have been from about 10 to 12 feet.

Although there were other employees at the site, Van Wyngarden was working alone. There was a time period, Hoffman said, of potentially up to 30 minutes after his arrival before he was discovered.

Van Wyngarden was employed by Heartland Co-op of Newton. Hoffman said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating the workplace incident.

Haverhill and Laurel First Responders, the State Center Police Department and the Marshall County Medical Examiner also assisted at the scene.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com