The Linn County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a Sweet Home man who fell while trimming a tree.
On Nov. 26 at 10:21 a.m. deputies responded to R & L Excavating on Crescent Hill Road in Sweet Home after being notified by Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District of a fatal tree-trimming accident.
Deputies learned the resident, Raymond Launder, 59 years old, was trimming trees with a friend, 59-year-old Richard Paulino, said Sheriff Bruce Riley.
Paulino told deputies that Launder was in a fir tree approximately 52 feet off the ground.
Launder was wearing a safety harness and had detached the harness to move to a different location in the tree, Riley said.
Paulino heard him yell, turned around and found Launder lying on the ground and unresponsive.
SHFAD responded, and Launder was pronounced dead at the scene.
Paulino described Launder as an excellent tree trimmer and deputies found no malfunction with Launder’s equipment, Riley said.
Sweet Home Funeral Chapel removed Launder’s body from the scene .
The investigation is continuing.