Sheriff's office releases details of fatal barn fire

HARRIS TOWNSHIP - Investigators from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office released information this week offering new details regarding a fatal barn fire in Harris Township in September.

Steven P. Leady, 48, was identified last month through DNA testing as the person who died in the blaze that demolished a barn on Sept. 11, starting around 6:34 p.m., at 15328 W. Ohio 163.

When first responders arrived after the initial report of the fire, the barn was already fully engulfed in flames and they learned Leady was missing, according to the sheriff’s office new report.

Leady lived at that address with his wife and children, the report stated. During the investigation, investigators learned of text messages Leady exchanged with a family member just before the fire was reported:

Leady: “Cya”

Family member: “Where you going?”

Leady: “Gone”

At the scene, first responders found a body, later identified as Leady, on the floor in the center of the barn. The body was extensively burned and had copper stranded wire around the neck, according to the report.

Similar looking wire was also found wrapped around one of the roof rafters above the body. Investigators determined that the wires broke during the fire and the body fell through the loft floor down to the lower level, according to the report.

Following an autopsy, no evidence of soot was found in the airway or lungs, indicating that the person was not breathing during the fire, the report stated.

Investigators also found gasoline-fueled equipment and various containers in the remaining areas of the barn that would have added to the spread of the fire.

In addition to the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, the Harris-Elmore Fire Department, Allen-Clay Joint Fire District, Portage Fire Department, Oak Harbor Police Department and Mid County EMS also responded to the scene.

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