A Bruno man was apparently electrocuted when he allegedly tried to steal copper grounding cable from a utility pole Sunday afternoon at Rich Creek.

The body of Morris Michael Goodman, 37, of Bruno, was found by a man riding an ATV on the old Belva Coal Company Strip Mine around 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Lt. D.E. Brown and Deputy J.L. Mathis of the Logan County Sheriff's Department were called to the scene and spoke with the man who found the body and the man stated he had seen Goodman standing behind a red Ford Ranger truck approximately one hour earlier and that he drove by and continued to drive his ATV.

The man said there were two white males with the truck when he drove by. He also said that when he returned back to that same area, he found Goodman's body lying in the roadway.

The police report said Goodman's body had serious burns on parts of it and a grounding cable was found nearby.

According to the press release issued Monday afternoon by Sgt. Sonya M. Porter, Goodman had tried to remove a ground cable from an Appalachian Power utility pole when it became entangled in the actively-charged lines resulting in his electrocution. "We believe he was trying to steal copper," Porter said. "He was not an employee of AEP."

Goodman's body is currently at the State Medical Examiner's office in Charleston, Porter said.