A 72-year-old watchman, found near death and who eventually succumbed to his injuries in a Mound House scrap yard, does not appear to be a victim of foul play, a Lyon County investigator said this morning.
Lt. Rob Hall of the Lyon County Sheriff's Department said officers were called out about 8 a.m. by an employee of Mound House Metal on Brown Drive on the report of a beating victim.
Hall said the unnamed watchman was found inside the scrapyard fences with a "laceration" to his head. When found he was conscious but not able to communicate. The watchman, who lived alone on the property, later died.
Hall said the preliminary investigation reveals that he likely fell and injured himself on something in the scrap yard.
"He had an injury that may be consistent with falling," said Hall. "There is no evidence of a burglary or a robbery.
"We don't believe that this was foul play. It's being investigated with an open mind of course, but at this point we have no evidence of foul play."
The incident remains under investigation.