Farmer eaten by his own hogs
October 2nd, 2012
08:02 AM ET

Farmer eaten by his own hogs

Authorities in Oregon are investigating how a hog farmer was eaten by his animals.

The remains of Terry Vance Garner, 70, were found in his hog enclosure Wednesday, according to local news reports Monday.

The farmer had gone to feed the hogs, some weighing as much as 700 pounds, about 7:30 a.m., according to a report from CNN affiliate KMTR. After Garner was not seen for several hours, a family member went to check on him and found his dentures in the hog pen. Other remains were found, but the hogs had eaten most of the farmer, according to the report.

The sheriff's department is looking into the death.

"Due to the unusual circumstances, the Sheriff's Office is investigating to determine if foul play may have resulted in the death of Mr. Garner," Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier told CNN affiliate KVAL.

“For all we know, it was a horrific accident, but it’s so doggone weird that we have to look at all possibilities,” the Eugene Register-Guard quoted Frasier as saying.

Garner could have suffered a heart attack and fallen in the pen, or the hogs could have knocked him off his feet and then eaten him, Frasier told the newspaper.

The state of the remains made determining a cause of death difficult, according to the news reports. They had been sent to the University of Oregon and examined by a forensic anthropologist, the report said.

The farmer's brother, Michael Garner, told the Register-Guard that one of the sows had bitten the farmer last year after he accidentally stepped on a piglet.

“He said he was going to kill it, but when I asked him about it later, he said he had changed his mind,” Garner said.

Garner told the Register-Guard his brother was a Vietnam veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. The farm was "a life-saver," he said.

“Those animals were his life,” Garner told the Register-Guard.

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Filed under: Agriculture • Animals • Oregon
soundoff (641 Responses)
  1. Tom

    "We're gonna go inside, we're gonna go outside, inside and outside. We're gonna get 'em on the run boys and once we get 'em on the run we're gonna keep 'em on the run. And then we're gonna go go go go go go and we're not gonna stop til we get across that goalline. This is a team they say is... is good, well I think we're better than them. They can't lick us, so what do you say men? "

    October 2, 2012 at 11:40 am | Report abuse |
  2. duane

    So, are those who eat these particular hogs considered cannibals?

    October 2, 2012 at 11:40 am | Report abuse |
  3. Pigpocalypse

    Forget get bath salt zombies wiping us out in 2012... It's going to be a Pig Apocalypse... Joking aside, hopefully this guy was out before the 3 lil piggies went to market on his body.

    October 2, 2012 at 11:40 am | Report abuse |
  4. musings

    I think we are foolish to imagine animals don't forget a slight. On the other hand, the man could have suffered a heart attack and then been used by nature in the most expeditious fashion. We may never know.

    October 2, 2012 at 11:41 am | Report abuse |
  5. Smarter than ewe

    Death by bacon

    October 2, 2012 at 11:43 am | Report abuse |
  6. grnidone

    Maybe this is what happened to Jimmy Hoffa?

    Seriously, though, condolences to the family.

    October 2, 2012 at 11:45 am | Report abuse |
  7. Kelly

    Talk about having a bad day! Put this in your forensic files? Who done it? K

    October 2, 2012 at 11:49 am | Report abuse |
  8. John W.

    If I was in the third grade, your lame and obvious joke might be funny.

    October 2, 2012 at 11:52 am | Report abuse |
  9. bookldy209

    Which movie was it that the criminals disposed of people this way? The Usual Suspects? Helped a few kids over the years raise a pig for 4H and they are extremely smart animals who learn quickly. They will also eat anything, particularly when they reach hog weight. Prayers for the family but likely an unfortunate accident.

    October 2, 2012 at 11:52 am | Report abuse |
    • lol

      I remember it being used in the movie Hannibal.

      October 2, 2012 at 11:53 am | Report abuse |
  10. Texan

    I believe this was an episode of "Criminal Minds" but it was set in Canada....

    October 2, 2012 at 11:53 am | Report abuse |
    • lol

      Yeah they did it too, taking the disposal method from Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton

      October 2, 2012 at 11:55 am | Report abuse |
  11. fsjunkie

    Seriously, do you think the hogs knew that it was either going to be him or them? Do you think hogs "recognize" the smell of bacon?

    October 2, 2012 at 12:04 pm | Report abuse |
    • gen

      someone said that pigs have the mind of a 3 yr old human child which still i doubt can recognize danger

      October 2, 2012 at 12:19 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Daddy2010

    Hence, that makes no sense.

    October 2, 2012 at 12:04 pm | Report abuse |
  13. Daddy2010

    Wow. How can you stand yourself when you're now known as the person with the worst attempt at humor ever??

    October 2, 2012 at 12:05 pm | Report abuse |
  14. gen

    ick never eating pork again....

    October 2, 2012 at 12:05 pm | Report abuse |
  15. gen

    I had a nurse tell me once that they took a piece of pork meat under the microscope and when they pored sprite on it parasite started coming out

    October 2, 2012 at 12:07 pm | Report abuse |
    • RoseMcB

      LOL! That's one of the oldest urban myths going... that and disolving nails in Coke.

      LMBO!

      October 2, 2012 at 12:13 pm | Report abuse |
    • gen

      actually they did it in school she is not a person that lies

      October 2, 2012 at 12:15 pm | Report abuse |
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