"MOONSHINE" KILLS TWO MERCER MEN - Substance Passed Was Methanol

(12/14/2002)

Yesterday, The Herald reported what seems to be a return to old-time bank robbery. Today it is a tragic "moonshine" story. Two men have died and four are hospitalized in serious condition after drinking methanol - they thought was moonshine. Sergeant A. D. Beasley of the Mercer County Sheriff's Department said 32-year-old Roger Coeburn died Tuesday and 38-year-old Kenneth Lacy Earnest died Thursday of poisoning. Methanol has been found in Coeburn's bloodstream, after the substance was mistakenly passed around. Authorities have not determined how much methanol was consumed, or whether the liquid contained other substances because the container has not been located. Coeburn's mother, Betty, is one of the four people hospitalized. Officer Kevin Walker of the Matoaka City Police Department says a neighbor of the Coeburns bought the methanol, but thought it was gasoline. After pouring a half-gallon of the substance into his gas tank, the man reportedly summoned another neighbor to his mobile home to have a drink because it smelled like moonshine.

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