MONROE COUNTY - DECEMBER 19, 2022 - Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a fatal tree stand fall that occurred Saturday in Monroe County.
Emergency personnel were dispatched to the area of Bruce Lane near Indiana State Road 45 in Morgan-Monroe State Forest after the man who fell was discovered by a fellow hunter.
Kevin Leech, 57, of Heltonville, was deer hunting from a climbing tree stand when for unknown reason the stand malfunctioned, causing Leech to fall.
Leech, who was not wearing a full body safety harness, was pronounced dead at the scene. An exact cause of death is pending autopsy results.
Conservation Officers remind everyone using elevated platforms to hunt to always wear a full body harness, use a tree stand’s safety rope, never try to put up or remove a tree stand by themself, and to always inspect their tree stand before climbing up into it.
Assisting agencies at the scene included Monroe County Fire Protection District, IU Lifeline Ambulance, Monroe and Morgan County Sheriff's Department.
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