According to the Board of Public Utilities, a power line was hit by lightning in the area of N. 61st Terrace. Charles Ruth was standing in tall grass when the power line fell.
More information from the BPU:
Authorities are investigating the death of a middle-aged man found Sunday, June 22nd in a secluded wooded area located North & East of 1623 North 61st Terrace, in the Coronado Heights area of Kansas City, KS.
The man who was reported missing to the Kansas City, Kansas police department since Friday, June 20th, apparently came into contact with a low-hanging power line which was likely the result of lighting striking a utility pole cross arm causing the power line to hang low over the tall grass.
As the line was still suspended, and attached to the pole, it didn’t make contact with the ground in this secluded area, therefore no blown fuse or outage was not caused, nor was this line reported in to BPU. As a result, BPU was unaware of this downed energized line until the accident was reported. There is currently no technology available to inform electric utilities of downed lines such as this particular incident.
BPU would like to express its sympathy to the family and friends of the victim and to the officer who was injured responding to this accident as a result of this tragic accident involving a power line.
