Man dead following grain bin entrapment in Dewitt

DEWITT, Iowa (KWQC) - A man is dead after deputies say he was trapped in a grain bin Wednesday in Dewitt.

The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office and Dewitt Fire Department responded around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday to a report of a man trapped in a grain bin in the 2000 block of 320th Avenue, Dewitt, according to a media release.

Deputies and firefighters found a man trapped inside a partially filled grain bin when they arrived, According to officers. Dewitt firefighters worked with neighboring firefighters to get him out of the bin.

According to Purdue University, in 2021 at least three 23 people were killed in grain bin incidents, and eight of them were in Iowa.

“It can bring you in faster than you actually realize,” said Clinton County farmer and farm bureau member, Chad Petersen. “It’s very difficult, if not impossible to get yourself out in flowing grain.”

Firefighters were able to extricate the man from the grain bin, but he had died from being trapped in the grain, deputies said. The identity of the man is currently being withheld, pending notification of the family.

Petersen said the best way for farmers to stay safe around grain bins is to have someone there with them.

According to deputies, the investigation is ongoing by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office and the Clinton County Medical Examiner’s Office.