Downed power line leads workers to man’s body in the woods, Louisiana officials say

Workers investigating a power outage followed a downed power line into the woods, and it led them to a man’s body, Louisiana officials said.

Entergy employees were near Walker when they made the discovery, on the evening of Thursday, May 23, the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office said. Workers following the downed lines found a man lying dead next to the lines and near an ATV, spurring an investigation.

He was later identified as 39-year-old Jarod Schoeffel, according to deputies.

“It appears the deceased … came upon these low-lying power lines & attempted to move the energized lines,” the sheriff’s office said.

“I’m so lost right now,” his wife, Heather Willingham, said in a Facebook post. “I didn’t get to say goodbye and I’ll never see him again.”

Schoeffel was “a good man” and father of two young children, she wrote on a GoFundMe page.

“He loved making jokes and standing up for what he believed in. He was passionate about life and his loved ones,” it read. “He will be severely missed by our children and his family and friends.”

Schoeffel’s death is under investigation but is believed to be accidental, the sheriff’s office said.

Walker is a roughly 22-mile drive east from Baton Rouge.

This story was originally published May 26, 2024 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Downed power line leads workers to man’s body in the woods, Louisiana officials say."