05/18/2006
Boar hunting trip goes horribly wrong for Kalona man
By: Mary Marek
When Kermit Gingerich, 34, and his friend Aaron Swartzentruber,
both of Kalona, headed to Macon, Mississippi Saturday, May 6, it was
in anticipation of hunting wild boar on a farm owned by Morris Miller.
But after Gingerich failed to return from hunting Wednesday,
anticipation turned to dread, which turned to sorrow late Friday, when
Gingerich's body was found in a creek.
According to reports, the two men split up Wednesday morning to
head to separate tree stands. When a rain shower turned into a thunder
storm, Swartzentruber decided to head to the house. He checked
Gingerich's tree stand, but it was empty. He didn't become worried,
though, until later that evening when Gingerich still had not
returned.
An official search and rescue operation was initiated Thursday
morning, but, according to Gingerich's father-in-law Virgil Slabaugh,
it was the local people, not the officials, who actually carried out
the search.
"I can't say enough good things about those people," Slabaugh said
in an interview Monday. He explained that it was the local church and
community people who responded to their call for help.
By the time Slabaugh, along with Gingerich's wife, Kim and his
three brothers and two brothers-in-law, arrived in Mississippi, dozens
of local people had joined in the search of the wooded and marshy
terrain where the Kalona men had been hunting. Recent rains had caused
flooding in the area, and Thursday's search had been accomplished
mostly by people on horseback who had covered the high spots.
The flood water had receded enough by Friday that a more thorough
search of the area was possible. It was late afternoon when searchers
using dogs found several items - his revolver, binoculars, camera and
knife - Gingerich had wrapped in his raincoat and left on the bank of
a creek.
About an hour later, according to Slabaugh, they found his body in
the water.
Slabaugh explained that the creek may have looked deceptively
shallow to Gingerich, who could not swim, but in reality, it had steep
banks.
Gingerich and his wife, Kim, have four children, two boys and two
girls, the oldest of which is ten. He has three brothers and two
sisters. His father, Rudy Gingerich, died in September 2003. His
mother Mary Anna lives in Kalona.
He farmed and had worked as a mechanic for Earl's Radiator & Repair
in Kalona for about ten years, according to Kev Swantz, Earl's
bookkeeper.
"Earl said he would have hired a hundred of Kerm," Swantz said, "he
was that good. We don't know what we're going to do."
Gingerich's father-in-law describes him as "a good, hard-working
guy. He had a quiet friendliness.
"Everyone's hurting extremely bad. It's awfully tough."
See page 2 for a complete obituary..
