Coroner Releases Cause of Death Results for Thompson Woman
Susan G. Taylor, 76, whose body was recently found in the wood near her property in Thompson Township, is believed to have died from a combination of natural and accidental factors, according to Geauga County Coroner John Urbancic.
Susan G. Taylor, 76, whose body was recently found in a wooded area near her property in Thompson Township, is believed to have died from a combination of natural and accidental factors, according to Geauga County Coroner John Urbancic.
Taylor, who was reported missing March 17 and was found March 22, had become ill over the past several weeks due to an undiagnosed blood clot, heart disease and a pulmonary embolism, which is known to cause “a lack of oxygenated blood to the brain,” Urbancic said in his report.
“A lack of oxygenated blood to the brain can cause mental confusion or a change in cognitive abilities,” he said. “While working in the woods, Susan also sustained an accidental injury which led to blood loss, further compounding her condition. Susan had walked off of her property through a wooded wetland area and was located on the far property line of a neighboring parcel of land.”
Urbancic said there was no foul play suspected at this time and the case remains under investigation.
A NEWS 5 Cleveland helicopter crew flying over Taylor’s property March 22 as part of a search party spotted Taylor’s body in a wooded area around 11:25 a.m., roughly 1,600 feet from her home.
“We found Susan in the woods deceased,” Geauga County Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand said Wednesday. “She was not even on her property, she was on the property behind her.”
Taylor lived in a cabin at 7454 Sidley Road, a 22.73-acre parcel she bought in August 2021.
According to a sheriff’s office incident report, Taylor’s son reported her missing at 8:36 p.m. March 17. He told the dispatcher he found a pile of wet clothes at the end of her driveway and said there is a pond on the property.
Hours earlier, Taylor had told her son she was going to clean out a culvert, the report stated. A rake was found by the culvert.
“Coals in the stove are still warm,” the report stated. “Her car is there, her phone is in the car. The house is empty.”
The report also stated Taylor’s purse was at the house and the gate was found locked — which it usually is not.
Hildenbrand said area law enforcement, employing K-9s and drones, and first responders began searching for Taylor, who the sheriff said did not suffer from dementia, Alzheimer’s or any other cognitive condition.
“Everyone we talked to said she was very sharp and very mobile,” he added. “She didn’t have any trouble walking, she was very intelligent, she was a nurse. They said she was sharp for her age.”
A dive team searched the pond March 18 as investigators conducted background checks, including a search of financial records. Nothing suspicious was found, the sheriff said.
A snowstorm and cold weather halted search efforts last Saturday night and Sunday.
On Monday, Hildenbrand said plans were made to organize a community-wide search party — a first for Geauga County — to assist with searching the wildness area surrounding Taylor’s home. A call went out on the sheriff’s office Facebook page for volunteers to meet at 8 a.m. March 22 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on Rock Creek Road. They were told to bring appropriate clothing and gear to remain self-sufficient in rough terrain for four hours.
“We wanted to do a thorough search of not only her property, but the surrounding properties, all the up to Ledge Road,” the sheriff explained.
More than 400 people — most dressed in hunting and outdoor gear — heeded the call and showed up to help search dog and drone teams, as well as first responders find Taylor.
Around 9:20 a.m., the volunteers boarded five school buses — that Berkshire Schools had donated the use of — and were transported to Sidley Road.
“We pretty much lined them (volunteers) all up along Sidley from Route 166 to almost Peters Road,” Hildenbrand said. “They walked from Sidley Road west to Ledge Road through the woods. We had enough people that we could do one line and walk the entire way in one shot.”
Once Taylor’s body was found, Hildenbrand said the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation was called out.
“The outcome is unfortunate, but at least the family has closure,” Hildenbrand said.
