Zanesville Man Found Dead On Sidewalk In Front Of House

Authorities said Lance A. Hoopes, 50, was found dead on the sidewalk in front of his home on Coopermill Road in Zanesville on Saturday.

Hoopes' daughter, Misti Houston, remembered her father as a hard-working man who enjoyed the simple pleasures of life.

"He loved sitting out back at my grandma's and looking at the birds. That was one of his favorite things to do. There were bird houses out there everywhere and that's just how he found peace," said Houston.

Any peace was taken from their family early Saturday morning when Houston's grandmother discovered Hoopes dead in his front yard.

Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said there were no obvious signs of foul play, but an autopsy revealed otherwise.

"The bottom line was we felt a little uneasy about it. We felt it very well could have been an accidental death, but we weren't ready to rule that until the autopsy came back and now we've seen things from the autopsy report that just don't seem natural," said Lutz.

A neighbor told WBNS-10TV that he awoken around 3 a.m. Saturday morning by neighborhood dogs making a lot of noise.

As investigators try to piece together the final hours of Hoopes's life, his daughter struggles with not only with his death, but the fact that it was by someone else's hand.

"I just hope and pray that they get the person or figure out what happened because he was a good man. He was such a good man and he was such a good father, and such a good grandfather. And it just tears me to pieces, because he didn't deserve this," said Houston.

If you have any information on Hoopes whereabouts on Friday or early Saturday, the sheriff's office number is (740) 452-3637 Ext. 6149.

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