BEULAH -- Authorities pledge a "complete investigation" into a Benzie County Jail inmate's death, and family members are eager for answers.
A fellow inmate found Edward Dale Baughman, 49, hanging from bedsheets in his one-person cell at about 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Baughman, of Elberta, was booked into the jail Aug. 16 on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. Officials contend it's still too early to deem his death a suicide.
"We're doing a complete investigation with open minds," Benzie Undersheriff Bill Sholten said.
Officers locked Baughman and other inmates in their cells for a jail staff shift change at 2:30 p.m., and Baughman didn't come out into a commons area when officers unlocked the cell doors using a remote system at 3:30 p.m. A fellow inmate found Baughman hanging in his cell and notified corrections officers.
Investigators will look at available surveillance footage, call logs, employee logs and other items, Sholten said. He wouldn't provide a status of the investigation and couldn't say how long it might take.
Some family members want to know how and why Baughman ended up dead in a supervised correctional facility.
"I'd like to know how something like that could happen in a jail cell," said his brother, Daniel Baughman, of Elberta. "Somebody wasn't doing their job up there."
Edward Baughman last worked at Cherry Growers in Grawn, but recently had a hard time finding work, his brother said.
Sholten said the death could result in a change of jail policy, though it's too soon to tell what could be done in the aftermath.
"That's our number one job ... we exist for the safety and security of the people who are housed here," he said.
Authorities had no indication Baughman was a suicide risk, Sheriff Rory Heckman said. He previously spent eight days in jail after a Jan. 22 domestic violence arrest.
Related Story: Benzie officials investigate inmate's death
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