US: maintenance man crushed by compactor
Jul 26, 2010 in Uncategorized
A maintenance man who went missing weeks ago has been found crushed to death in a rubbish compactor while at work near Niagara Falls in the US.
Police examining surveillance video spotted John Adams falling into the machine and later discovered the mechanism had prevented him from being able to escape.
Mr Adams, 67, had last been seen picking up litter on the night of July 4, American Independence Day.
Owners of the building offered a £1,000 reward to find him and his family put up signs around the area seeking information.
His sister, Evie Shepherd, said building officials told her he slipped into the compactor while trying to retrieve a fallen rubbish bin.
She questioned why police apparently had not looked at the footage earlier in the search.
“He wouldn’t have been (found) living, but it would have been a lot easier on the family,” she said.
Building president Tony Farina told a local newspaper that building officials did not examine the video until Friday night because an initial police search of the compactor turned nothing up.
“It was a very startling and tragic discovery,” said Mr Farina.
“We had always held out hope that somehow John would turn up okay, and this is a terrible way for things to end.”
Mr Adams, who had five grown-up children, had worked at the building for about five years.
Source: Skynews online, July 26, 2010