RCMP at Portage la Prairie are waiting on autopsy results to learn how a Newton-area farmer died alone Saturday in his grain bin.
According to a release Monday, RCMP were called at about 6:45 p. m. that day to a farm south of Newton, just east of Portage. A neighbour had phoned 911 to report that equipment and a truck were found running but the owner was nowhere in sight and could be injured somewhere on the farm.
RCMP, ambulance and fire crews from Portage and members of Sunnyside Colony arrived to search for the farmer.
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Finding a ladder poking out the top of a grain bin near where the truck and equipment were found, crews emptied the bin and found the 62-year-old farmer dead inside, RCMP said.
“It is believed that the farmer was working alone, and went into the bin to loosen up the top layer of grain” without using proper safety equipment, Cst. Steve Senuita wrote in the RCMP’s release.
“The grain underneath the farmer became loose and the farmer sunk to the bottom of the bin.”
Foul play is not suspected, RCMP said Monday, adding that the farmer’s name would not be released at that time.
