Father and Son Die During Attempted Theft

Natural Selection only rarely takes out two generations at once.

Father and Son Die During Attempted Theft: "Boone County authorities say a father was trying to save his son from electrocution when he also was killed.

Sheriff Rodney Miller says 48-year-old Jack Chapman of Seth became frustrated when he couldn't free his 22-year-old son Daniel from live wires Friday night and came into contact with them himself.

Miller says Daniel Chapman and another man had gone to the American Electric Power substation in Prenter to steal copper.

After Chapman was struck by an electrical surge and caught fire, the man with him notified Jack Chapman, who went to the substation to try to free his son.

Emergency crews had to wait for the power to be shut off before entering the premises.

AEP spokesman Phil Moye says the cut ground wires left 460 area customers without power for about 22 hours.

Moye says that since the price of copper started rising about two years ago, six would-be thieves have been killed in the power company's West Virginia service area."