Co-op worker found dead near elevator
Staff writer
A longtime Mid-Kansas Cooperative employee was found dead Monday outside the company’s Peabody grain elevator.
A passer-by reported seeing a man lying on the ground near the elevator shortly before 8 a.m.
According to Peabody police chief Bruce Burke, no foul play is suspected in the death of Scott A. Alcorn, 43, of Marion.
Burke declined to give an apparent cause of death, citing ongoing investigation.
Alcorn’s body was sent to Frontier Forensics in Kansas City for an autopsy at the coroner’s request, county attorney Courtney Boehm said.
Alcorn’s family was notified by the sheriff’s office.
Alcorn was a location service specialist at the Peabody elevator who had been with the company 20 years, MKC communication specialist Nichole Gouldie said.
“We’d like to express our condolences to his family and friends,” Gouldie said. “He was a dedicated team member, not just to our company but to the community, and he will be missed.”
Each April, Alcorn held a bake sale to raise money for the Peabody community food bank in conjunction with MKC’s annual food drive, often setting up in front of a downtown restaurant.
Deb Windsor, community food bank volunteer, said she really didn’t get to know Alcorn until he began raising money for the food bank.
“He told me that years ago he needed a little bit of help and now that he was able to give a little back to the community; he was happy to do that,” Windsor said. “He had a big heart for people who needed a little help and it was a joy for him to help.”
Peabody mayor Larry Larsen said the community lost a friend. Alcorn’s brother attended school with Larsen’s daughters.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends during this hard time,” Larsen said. “He will be impossible to replace.”
Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents assisted at the scene, but KBI spokeswoman Melissa Underwood said the investigation is the sheriff’s case.