By BOB GIBBINS
Cherokee County authorities are investigating the death of a local man.
The body of Buddy Dwaine Taylor, 21, was sent to the state medical examiner’s office for an autopsy. Sheriff’s Investigator Bob Sanders said officials suspect Taylor, a college student, may have died of alåcohol poisoning.
Sanders said he was contacted early Saturday morning by the sheriff’s office after Taylor had been taken to the Tahlequah City Hospital Emergency Room. Deputies Bronson McNiel and Robert Sparks were already at the hospital.
Sanders said deputies were told three men brought Taylor to the hospital. Some of his head hair had been recently shaved and cut in a jagged, uneven manner.
The three men initially told Sanders they were in the area of Buck Ford on the Illinois River when they approached Taylor’s pickup. They claimed they found Taylor unresponsive, and one of them drove Taylor’s pickup to the hospital while the others followed in their own vehicle.
Sanders said the three men then recanted their initial story and claimed they were at a party when Taylor showed up alone at the scene. The witnesses said Taylor appeared to be intoxicated when he arrived, but continued to drink beer and liquor.
When Taylor passed out, some of the people at the party began shaving his head and noticed he was turning blue, Sanders said. They then rushed Taylor to the hospital.
Sanders said officials do not know whether Taylor died while en route to the hospital or after his arrival.
Michael Osburn and Bret Perry were arrested for obstructing an officer and aggravated assault and battery. The assault count stems from their involvement in shaving Taylor’s head.
