Lightning killed woman found Sunday on trail

Michelle Ann Wolfe died a mile from the River Place trail head.

A woman who was found dead Sunday on the River Place Nature Trail in western Travis County was killed by a lightning strike, according to the Travis County sheriff ’s office.

A passer-by found 37-year-old Michelle Ann Wolfe’s body around 5:32 p.m. roughly a mile from the River Place trail head and immediately alerted authorities.

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services crews were called to the scene, but Wolfe was already dead when they arrived.

Sheriff ’s office spokeswoman Kristen Dark released a statement Wednesday that said investigators found no signs of foul play but did notice a downed tree branch and scorched objects near Wolfe’s body.

Dark said the Travis County medical examiner later confirmed that Wolfe died from electrocution by lightning strike. Her death has been ruled an accident.

Wolfe is the second person in Texas and the 36th in the nation to die from a lightning strike so far in 2016, according to the National Weather Service.

Weather service-meteorologist Paul Yura said thunderstorms and lightning strikes can happen in Texas year-round.

“What that means for everybody is that we need to pay attention if or when thunderstorms are near our location,” he said. “We have a saying: ‘When thunder roars, go indoors.’ ”

Yura said people typically tend to go about their business as usual when thunderstorms roll into the area.

“There are a lot of people still out trying to take care of their work, their chores, their jobs or whatever,” he said. “You should take as many precautions as possible.”

The first lightning-related death in Texas this year occurred Aug. 28 in Slaton, about 16 miles southeast of Lubbock.

According to the weather service, Gabriel Ramos, 23, was struck while walking in a park by a lake.

The tally of fatal lightning strikes in the United States so far this year is the highest since 2007, which recorded 45 for the entire year, weather service records show.

Yura said many incorrectly think having a roof over your head, like at a gazebo in a park or a pavilion, provides a safe shelter from lightning.

“Electricity, even if it strikes nearby, can move sideways or along the ground, so you have to be in an enclosed structure to be as safe as you can,” he said.

Yura urged people to think ahead when thunderstorms are near and to stay close to shelter in case lightning develops.