The farmer whose property was the site of a cockfighting raid last month has been found dead.
Marvin A. Vogler’s body was found Tuesday in a field south of his home. He had been reported missing by his family Monday morning.
According to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, there were no obvious signs of trauma to Vogler’s body. Sheriff Willam C. Brueggemann said an autopsy has been ordered.
Brueggemann said Vogler’s family reported last seeing him Sunday night. Vogler’s phone was powered off early Monday morning, according to a statement issued by the sheriff’s office.
Deputies searched the farmstead and all the buildings on the Vogler property Monday. On Tuesday, with the assistance of the Cass County Emergency Management Agency, they flew a drone over Vogler’s property and located his body in the field.
On November 24, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Nebraska State Patrol, and Nebraska Humane Society raided the property and arrested 32 people at a cock fight. The cock fight remains under investigation and Vogler was a person of interest in that investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.
Nearly 200 birds, mostly roosters, some of whom had been injected and physically mutilated to improve their fighting, were found in the raid. Authorities also found hook-shaped razors that owners attach to roosters’ legs before fighting.
