Tiffany Revelle
Staff Writer
LAKE COUNTY ? Preliminary results from a July 25 autopsy revealed that the death of a Clearlake Oaks man was a suicide, according to a Friday response from the Lake County Sheriff”s Office.
Chief Deputy Sheriff Russell Perdock confirmed that Owen Andrew Lampman, 55, died of a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the head. Lampman”s body was found lying near a charred truck registered to his name in the creek bed of Corbin Creek near the Lake-Glenn county line July 21, according to press releases from the LCSO.
According to an investigation report, Lampman drove the truck into an open area in the creek bed and set fire to it by igniting a wick material he had inserted into the gas tank before shooting himself, said Perdock.
Concerned neighbors and co-workers had separately reported him missing, with a missing persons report being filed with the LCSO July 7. One said Lampman had been missing from his Clearlake Oaks home since June 25, when fire department personnel had responded to a structure fire at his home.
Whether or not the structure fire and the suicide are related is being investigated, said Perdock.
Lampman”s body was so badly decayed that immediate identification was not possible. Dental records were used to identify him Aug. 2.
Lampman reportedly had no family or next-of-kin to notify, said Perdock, and his property affairs were handled by a trustee executor of his estate.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
