Woman killed while shocking for worms

[Blue Gardener]

LITTLE SIOUX (Iowa)- A Little Sioux woman appears to have died from electrocution when attempting to gather worms for her fish Friday morning.

Harrison County Sheriff Terry Baxter said the woman, whose name has not been released pending notification of relatives, appears to have been shocking the ground near her residence for night crawlers. Baxter said the ground was saturated with water.

He said the woman was using what appeared to be a homemade shocking device that was plugged into an electrical outlet.


http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14907855&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=555106&rfi=6

When will people learn that water and electricity do not go well together?

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Has anyone put her name in for the Darwin Awards yet?

[Blue Gardener]

8. She sounds like a prime candidate

I wonder how one would go about submitting a name?

[mcscajun]

10. Done.

Too priceless NOT to submit it.

:)

If the moderators approve it, it'll be in the Slush Pile shortly.

[BiggJawn]

11. She'll be in the Top Ten, I'm sure....

We used an old telephone ringing magneto for that.

[gpandas]

2. whattawaytogo n/t

[KG]

3. how much current do you need to get worms?

[acmavm]

4. Probably more than she was running between her ears.

.

[xchrom]

5. will there be a straight face at her funeral?

[Historic NY]

6. No...

[WCGreen]

13. No, they will all be gay....

[amber dog democrat]

7. I don't understand it.

It worked the last time.

[pretzel4gore]

9. bare feet

the heat you know

[pinniped]

12. Good thing bait shops are in existence.

If not, there would be thousands more of these worm shock deaths per year.

[whatelseisnew]

14. Gazette has another detail or two

http://www.gazetteonline.com/2005/07/23/Home/wormhunterelectrocuted.prt

Sheriff Terry Baxter said the woman, who was in her late 40s, was using a 2-foot metal shaft that was wired to an extension cord and secured with tape. Such rods are used to send electricity into moist soil, which forces night crawlers out of the ground.
"It's not uncommon in our area," Baxter said.
Baxter said the woman apparently was standing in water on saturated ground and was electrocuted when she touched the metal rod.

[Blue Gardener]

15. When I was a kid

We just picked them up after a rain shower, or in the evenings after the dew had fallen.
And no one was ever electrocuted.