Seneca Man Found Dead By Electrical Workers

A Seneca man was discovered dead by power workers who were investigating an electrical outage Saturday night. The Oconee County coroner says the autopsy confirms Frankie Sheriff, 34, of Seneca, died from electrocution. 
Specimens will be submitted to SLED for toxicology analysis. 

Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis says that the body of 34-year old Frankie Sheriff was found by two Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative workers at 11:45 Saturday night behind an old textile building at 120 Old Seneca Road, near Westminster. The workers, who had responded to the location after a power outage around 9:30 pm in the area of south Highway 11 and Old Seneca Road, found Sheriff lying on the ground near two power poles which had three transformers that fed 7,200 volts.

Authorities say that it appears that electrical wires were being cut from the pole and another nearby utility pole that serviced the textile plant and a flashlight and crowbar were found lying near Sheriff. Addis says it is believed that another individual(s) were present at the time of the incident and Oconee County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating. 

Addis says that Sheriff’s death is being treated as accidental.