Editor’s note: This article was updated on 10/22/24 at 11:15 a.m. to omit inaccurate reporting based on ambiguous information. We regret the error.
An Arkadelphia man who died in a probation office parking lot following a probation visit will undergo an autopsy.
A report on file at the Arkadelphia Police Department identifies the deceased as 69-year-old Ed Lee Kennel Jr. At 3:58 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, officers and paramedics were summoned to a medical emergency at the local office of Arkansas Parole and Probation, 601 S. 7th St.
The police report indicates that Kennel, who was there to provide a urine sample, had exited the building during the midst of what appeared to be a seizure. Police found Kennel behind the wheel of his idling vehicle, still displaying signs of seizure activity and unable to communicate other than to say he frequently suffered seizures.
Soon after Baptist Health paramedics arrived on scene, Kennel stopped showing signs of life and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance with a police escort. Efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. He was pronounced deceased at 4:53 p.m.
Kennel was sent to the state Crime Lab for a coroner-ordered autopsy.