Cass County authorities say the owner of a farm near Louisville where they busted a cockfighting ring has been found dead in a field near his home.
Sixty-seven-year-old Marvin Vogler had been reported missing by his family Sunday. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office had planned to talk with him in the ongoing cockfighting investigation.
A search for Vogler began after family members reported not seeing him since Sunday night. A search of the outbuildings on the farm and fields around the home began on Monday by Cass County deputies. They returned on Tuesday and used a drone from the county emergency management agency to locate his body in a field south of the house.
An autopsy will be conducted, but foul play is not suspected. A raid of the Vogler property occurred November 24th by county deputies and Nebraska State Patrol troopers. Officers arrested more than 30 people, but some fled and avoided capture.
Investigators found blades, syringes, a fighting ring, and 11 dead roosters. Nearly 200 birds were found alive on the property, mostly roosters. Some were wounded. Seven had to be put down. The surviving birds were taken to the Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha.