By C. Perera, JadeTimes News
A rancher named Mike Morgan and more than thirty cattle he bought recently got killed in a terrible lightning strike in Jackson County. On Saturday afternoon, while he was feeding his cows from a trailer near Rand, Morgan 51 and husband was struck according to Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Nikole Morgan, his wife, on the other hand was thrown off her horse by the aftermath some two hundred feet away.
George Crocket, an official from the Jackson County Coroner’s Office, said that there were about one hundred and fourty cattle that were knocked down during the incidence among them 34 died. The deceased animals were part of a herd of 300 cows that had been newly acquired by Morgans after working on ranches locally for many years as fulfillment of their life long desire. The couple withstood the test of time; so says His Cavvy Foundation, a non profit local organization focused on helping farming families with financial troubles.
While appreciating their work at Silver Spur Ranches by saying that Mike worked there and Nikole dedicated herself to calving; this foundation has hailed them as Walden community’s backbone. A statement made by Nikole and Dallas Morgan who is their seventeen year old daughter expressed how much they cherished Michael since they had him as “the absolute best husband and father.”
Janie VanWinkle another farmer shared her heartfelt condolences because she lost some livestock due to weather factors which cannot be forecasted. Janie VanWinkle commented
Although a typical danger in ranching, this tragedy is uniquely ruinous.
This marks the first person killed by lightning strikes in 2024, first death from the same in Colorado since 2020, says the National Lightning Safety Council. It is followed by Florida and Texas as the third state with most lighting deaths since 2006.
To aid Morgan’s family, His Cavvy Foundation disclosed that it will stage a fund raiser soon. On Wednesday, twenty five of these orphans will be sold at Centennial Livestock Auction with all monies going to the family. Friend Jerred Seely said that he had never met anyone with a kinder heart than Morgan’s; he lived life larger than any other living human being on earth.