Pinehurst man killed in logging accident

WALLACE— The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) reports that 67- year old Ronald “Ron” Frank of Pinehurst was killed in a logging accident in Kingston.

After receiving a call for service on July 18 at approximately 12:45 p.m., the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Serenity Loop and upon arrival, deputies found that Frank had been struck by a tree.

EMTs from Shoshone County Fire District No.2 quickly transported Frank by ambulance to Shoshone Medical Center in Kellogg, where he later passed away as a result of his injuries. Holy Lindsey, SCSO Undersheriff, explains that the accident occurred when an individual at the work site attempted to pull a felled tree off the hillside- which was bound between one dead standing tree and one live standing tree.

While the felled tree was being pulled, the dead standing tree toppled over due to the rotting root system.

The falling tree struck Frank on the head.

Lindsey and SCSO Sheriff Mike Gunderson expressed their personal sorrow on behalf of all of those in the Sheriff’s Office in a post on Facebook.

“The Sheriff and I always try to stay unbiased with the information we release to the public, but in this case, we find it very difficult since Ron was our friend and colleague.

Ron was a Posse member with the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office where he spent many winters keeping us safe by patrolling our County’s recreational trails. We will always be thankful to Ron for his contributions to our County and he will always be remembered as a respected member of the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Frank family.”

No foul play is suspected with Frank’s death.

SCSO believes that the incident was strictly an unfortunate accident.