911 dispatchers were notified at 12:07 a.m. Thursday, August 25, 2022. The caller stated that he had found his son pinned underneath a mower and needed help.

Chrisman’s Neal Ambulance service, Chrisman Fire Department, and the Edgar County Sheriff’s Department all responded to the call. Upon arrival it was determined to dispatch the coroner.

Joshua Grant Blue, 24, of rural Paris was pronounced dead at the scene by Edgar County Coroner Scott Barrett.

Upon investigation, it was determined that Mr. Blue had left several hours earlier to mow multiple locations that his family takes care of. When he had not returned home later that night, his wife contacted his father and informed him that he had not come home.

Mr. Blue’s father and brother went looking for him. He was ultimately located at a rural Chrisman farm where he had been mowing around the edge of a pond. The John Deere zero turn mower he was on hit a depression along the pond bank. This caused the mower to roll over once and come to rest on top of him.

The incident remains under investigation by the Edgar County Sheriff’s Department and the Edgar County Coroner.