Overview
- Jodi Proger, 64, was found fatally injured on Nov. 15 after she became trapped with a buck inside a deer enclosure on her Stewartsville property.
- Responding Belmont County deputies shot and killed an aggressive buck to secure the scene and reach Proger, who was pronounced dead at the site.
- Authorities contacted the Belmont County Coroner’s Office, and officials say no foul play is suspected.
- It remains unclear which deer carried out the attack, while Proger’s daughter says the longtime family deer known as Wheezer was not involved and was neutered under ODNR rules.
- The Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Department of Agriculture have opened investigations into the incident, including the animals’ housing and legal status, after family members reported struggling to confine a deer before deputies arrived.