Elida fisherman drowns in county pond

Van Wert independent

An Elida man drowned accidentally while fishing in a pond on the eastern side of Van Wert County on Wednesday evening.

According to a report from the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Department, Ronald E. Urban, 76, drowned in a pond near E & R Trailer Sales sometime Wednesday evening. The sheriff’s department received a call at approximately 6:47 p.m. Wednesday from Margaret Suever, advising deputies that a woman had come to her door and said her husband had fallen into the pond while fishing.

Urban’s wife, Helen, who had accompanied her husband on the fishing trip, said her husband had a medical condition that sometimes made him weak and to lose his balance.

A deputy and Middle Point Fire and EMS were dispatched to the pond and found that an area resident, Donald Suever, had pulled Urban from the pond. Medics tried to revive Urban, using CPR, and then loaded him in the EMS squad for transport to Van Wert County Hospital. County Coroner Dr. Scott Jarvis later declared Urban dead at the hospital.

Sheriff’s Department deputies and troopers from the Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol investigated the incident before declaring it to be an accidental drowning.