Troy Daily News

July 17, 1917

BOLT OF LIGHTNING STRIKES YOUNG LAD

Tragic death of Vance Snapp in Pasture Field

Where Father and Hired Man Find Lifeless Body With Clothing Torn to Shreds

The life of Vance Snapp, the 16 year old son of Mr. & Mrs. L. D. Snapp who reside on the John A. McCurdy farm, east of Troy, was instantly snapped out about 4 o'clock Saturday afternoon by a bolt of lightning while the boy was in a pasture field for the cows.  The lad had been sent for the cows, which were in the field along the Troy-Springfield pike, and he had hardly reached the field until the electrical storm broke out and when the boy failed to return to the house within a half hour his parents became uneasy.  Mr. Snapp and Milton Spiegelmayer, the hired man, at once started for the field to make an investigation and were horrified to discover the lifeless body of the boy on the ground, while the condition of the clothing mutely told the story of the tragedy.  The clothing had been torn to shreds and the shoes on both feet were ripped and torn so that they could hardly be identified while two red streaks reached from the boy's neck down the back of the feet. The body was carried to the home.

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