ELLSWORTH COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) – On Monday morning, a woman called Ellsworth County 911 to report she found her nephew’s body in a pen. She told dispatchers that she thought a buffalo had killed him.
The report comes a day after an Ellsworth County deputy was seriously injured after being charged by a buffalo. The sheriff is investigating to see if the same buffalo or different animals attacked the men.
After getting the call Monday morning, Ellsworth County deputies and Claflin EMS went to where the woman said her nephew was. They found the man’s body in a row of trees north of K-4 Highway at 5th Road. That is about a quarter of a mile north of where the deputy was injured.
The victim was 56-year-old Scott Schroeder of rural Bushton. He was the owner of more than 20 buffalo kept at the location. Sheriff Murray Marston said they are waiting for an autopsy report, but the coroner’s preliminary cause of death is that Schroeder had been gored by an animal.
The injury to the deputy happened Sunday night. Marston said Ellsworth County 911 received a call about a buffalo on Kansas Highway 4 at 5th Road. Rice County dispatch was also contacted about the report since the south side of K-4 is in Rice County.
The Ellsworth County deputy responded and found the animal. He tried to get it to return to a pasture. That’s when the buffalo suddenly charged him. He was seriously injured.
A Rice County deputy arrived just as the animal was attacking the deputy and was able to put it down.
Claflin EMS took the deputy to Ellsworth County Medical Center. From there, the deputy was transferred to Salina Regional Health Center.
He underwent surgery last night and is in stable condition. The deputy’s name has not been released.
The sheriff said both incidents are still under investigation.
Editor’s Note: The proper name for the animal is bison, but it is commonly called a buffalo.