INDIAN RIVER SHORES — Contrary to initial reports, the man who died while on the roof of his home in Indian River Shores last Friday evening during a thunderstorm did not perish from a lightning strike.
According to Indian River Shores Public Safety Chief Rich Rosell, medical examiners have determined that 79-year-old Harvey Dale Sheren died of a heart attack.
Rosell said public safety officials initially though Sheren was struck by lightning because there was a really bad storm and multiple lightning strikes in the area at the time of his death.
He said Sheren had climbed up on the roof of his home July 28 on Isla Verde Square in the island subdivision in an attempt to patch a roof leak during the storm. His daughter and wife were inside the single-family home at the time of the incident.
When Sheren didn’t come back down for a period of time, his daughter called up to him, Rosell said. He didn’t answer, so she called 911. Indian River Shores Public Safety officials, made up of police, fire rescue and emergency medical services, responded to the scene and found his body.
Sheren lived at the home with his wife. His daughter, who was just visiting, lived elsewhere, Rosell said. Property records show he lived at the River Club subdivision since 2005 and also owned a yacht slip at the Moorings.
Though retired, Sheren was a licensed Airline Transport Pilot with commercial privileges. He was recognized four years ago by the Federal Aviation Administration when he was included in the FAA Airmen Certification Database, according to an agency news release on Sept. 18, 2013, with the headline “Vero Beach-based pilot sets positive example.”
The release said Sheren was among those “certified pilots who have met or exceeded the high educational, licensing and medical standards established by the FAA.”
Details on funeral arrangements for Sheren were not immediately available.
Staff Writer Nick Samuel contributed to this report.
