Sheriff: Amish Father in Ohio Lake Incident Intentionally Drowned Himself; Investigators Believe Mother Put Child In Water
Following the discovery of the body of his 4-year-old son in a recreational lake, an Amish father, previously considered missing, was also found deceased Sunday morning at the lake.
Divers discovered the 45-year-old man’s body around 50 yards from the dock near where his son was found.
Tuscarawas County, Ohio Sheriff Orvis L. Campbell has also revealed some additional shocking details as to how authorities believe the deaths happened.
The latest report from WKYC contains this information (emphasis added):
The body of the boy’s father was pulled from the water at around 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning. A witness who is not connected to the family told officials they saw him at the dock around 1:15 a.m. — hours before the child was found.
According to the sheriff, the father intentionally drowned himself and investigators believe the mother “intentionally put the child in the water.”
“We believe he went in the water and probably died hours before the child,” Campbell said.
This is a deeply disturbing tragedy leaving behind a lot of questions – and untold pain for the family’s remaining children and other relatives and community.
The unnamed Amish mother in this case first came under suspicion after it was determined that she intentionally crashed a golf cart with three of her children on it into a lake.
WKYC also provides these additional details on how that incident unfolded:
Several witnesses saw the mother driving the golf cart across the yard toward the lake and thought it was a runaway cart. Bystanders attempted to get her attention and get her to brake.
Those witnesses only suspected the act was intentional after they helped her out of the water “and she started to say these unusual things,” Campbell said.
“Drownings happen … and unfortunately they happen too often, but when you come to the realization — because there were many witnesses that saw her drive them into the lake off the golf cart — when all of those people came to the realization that this was an intentional act, they were deeply affected,” Campbell said.
The older children were not hurt physically:
Campbell said the older children were traumatized but physically unhurt in the incident. The golf cart flipped into the lake but was not deep enough to put them in harm’s way.
There are also disturbing details, including that the mother was “told” to drive the children into the lake, and some vague reference to “ritualistic-type stuff”:
“The death of the 4-year-old … happened before she loaded up the other kids,” the sheriff said. “So she made the other kids go through some ritualistic-type stuff that she believed. They survived, and then at some point she decided that she had to drive them into the lake.”
A lot of questions remain, but a truly disturbing story continues to unfold here. It goes without saying that none of what we’ve learned here aligns with the way the Amish do things.
That may seem like a too-obvious comment to make, but you might be surprised at the ideas some people get about the Amish.
JMN News adds some further details, including on the investigation and when the next official update will be provided (Monday):
The woman was hospitalized for mental health concerns, and the surviving children were released to relatives. Sheriff’s detectives are now executing a search warrant as part of the ongoing investigation.
Multiple agencies assisted in the search, including the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, Atwood Rangers, and numerous fire departments and law enforcement agencies from surrounding counties.
A press conference is planned for Monday afternoon at the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office. An exact time will be announced later.
If what Sheriff Campbell and investigators believe is true, it sounds like both husband and wife here were seriously mentally disturbed.
Investigators are still interviewing the mother.
Update
The Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office has released a new statement on the search and investigation, which you can see both embedded and screenshotted below.
There is not a ton of new information here, but there is a bit more detail on how they located the father’s body under water in an area known as “the causeway”.
They also commented on executing a search warrant in their investigation, and explain why names have not been released:
Sheriff Detectives will spend the rest of the day executing a search warrant to look for more clues to piece this unusual tragedy together.
The names of the deceased will be released by the Tuscarawas County Coroner’s Office once family has all been notified and identities are confirmed. We are confident the deceased are the four-year-old son and 45-year-old father of the family but are withholding the names as a matter of identification protocol.
Additionally, they provided a general time for the next update (tomorrow afternoon – Aug. 25):
Our Office is planning a press conference along with our partners from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District in the Training room at the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office for Monday, August 25, 2025 in the afternoon. An exact time will be released when that is determined.
Their will be no further releases today.
Here is the release in full:
More:
The sheriff has now revealed a lot more detail on the case, in a 45-minute press conference: Sheriff On Amish Lake Deaths: Couple’s 4-Year-Old Son Was “Price To Pay” For Failing Tests of Faith; Mother Expected To Be Charged With Murder
Amishman’s Body Found . . .
I find it hard to believe that this couple were such private people that they never once confided their feelings to either friends or other family members. As someone who has spent years working with mentally ill youth, I believe this whole tragedy could have been avoided had family/friends within America’s Amish communities known more about mental health issues. In fact, as a nation, we NEED to be he having these discussions. Please don’t misunderstand me. I am NOT blaming the Amish here. But I found that for the most part, suicidal people usually make certain statements and do certain things that should indicate to others their future plans. Things such as: “The world would be better off without me.” or “I feel like a complete failure . . . I have nothing to live for.” Also, many suicidal people often give away prized possessions to family and friends. I think all of this could have been avoided if more people in our society-including the Amish-were educated about mental health issues. I further believe that ALL public schools in America should include mental health topics in health class. We have lobbied for such education for years in America, yet here we are, in the 21st century and STILL elected officials and educators are reluctant to discuss it. WHY?! It’s all under the umbrella of “human health”. But then look at how many decades it took before schools finally began teaching students sex education. Amazing!! We are so far behind the curve in this country and it makes me crazy-angry!! Thank you for letting me have my say.
Freemason?
Maybe the mother was a secretive Freemason & wanted to move up the supposedly ladder by sacrificing her kids. The article stated that the mother had conducted a ritualistic ceremony. An Amish bishop told us many of the Amish are Freemasons.
Comment to M.D.
Some Amish are Freemasons?? Doesn’t Freemasonry involve a certain degree of religion to it?? I would think that would fly in the face of the Amish Anabaptist faith. (??)
Reply
I don’t believe this statement is true. What bishop have you talked to?
Reply
Yes, my statement about a lot of Amish are Freemasons is TRUE. We have been close friends with this bishop for over 20 years & and know other bishops. Freemasons are secret organizations with many branches. Freemason’s religion is not serving God, but other people.
Help please . . .
Hello Readers,
Can anyone help me?? I don’t have any Social Media accounts and I need Erik to get in touch with me via email. Could someone get in touch with him and ask him to contact me?? I’d truly appreciate it. Have a wonderful day everybody!
Contact
What for? ewesner@gmail.com. Don’t you have Gmail or anything like that?
Ruth Miller Charged
I can’t believe this! She has been charged for murder which it was murder but…..she isn’t going to get any better being a a place where mental health isn’t really a priority. What she did isn’t okay, it’s not but she needs mental help! Prayers for everyone in the Fairview South Amish Gma Dale and family.
To Daniel Mahek
Daniel . . . Thank you for Erik’s email address. I haven’t been getting Erik’s posts from this site until several days after he posts them. Something is wrong and I wish to discuss it with him. This has been going on for several months. Thank you for your concern.
Reply
You are very welcome! God Bless!