Logging accident victim identified

EDEN TWP. — Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole has released the identity of the man who was killed in the logging accident Friday afternoon. John L. Short, 46, of Whitehall, was killed when a tree he was cutting struck him in the head.

At 1:33 p.m., the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Riverton Fire Dept., Custer Fire Dept. and Carr Area Fire Dept., along with Life EMS ambulance, were called to an area 1.5 miles southwest of the intersection of Hawley and Custer roads.

Sheriff Cole said a tree service was working in that area doing selective cutting.

“It was a challenge to get back in the woods there, so we used all terrain vehicles from the fire departments,” Cole said. “The victim was cutting a 50-foot tall tree that apparently was rotten on the inside. As the tree fell it struck another tree and fractured into four pieces. One of the pieces came down and struck the victim on the head. He was pronounced dead on the scene.”

Cole said personnel from the Mason County Medical Examiner’s Office and the sheriff’s office Victim Services Unit were also called to the scene.