Family members said Thursday that they believed a man was killed by lightning.
Dick Sorg was wrapping up yard work at his Muskingum County home when a band of storms formed quickly over the area.
"He knew when to be out," said Theresa Brown, Sorg's sister-in-law. "It was just a freak of nature that this happened to him."
Sorg's family said that he gave his neighbor his chainsaw to help clean up the damage left from Friday's storm.
"When the neighbor came back up to return the chainsaw, to get something a bit bigger for the tree, he found my father laying dead here next to the tree," Jonathan Sorg said.
After inspecting the tree, family members said that they knew lightning killed him.
"The lighting did not travel down the tree," Jonathan Sorg said. "Somehow it made its way through the branches and struck somewhere in this vicinity."
Dick Sorg's family described him as a beloved volunteer.
"I can only hope to fill half of his shoes," Jonathan Sorg said.
Brown said that Tuesday was supposed to be a joyous day, his brother-in-law had been found cancer-free. The family said that it turned into a day of shock and sadness.
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