OKAWVILLE - Washington County's coroner says a 27-year-old farmer is dead after suffocating in a corn-filled bin. Coroner Thomas Coy says Nick Rennegarbe died Monday at his family's farm near Addieville.

Coy says Rennegarbe and his uncle were working on top of the large grain bin when Nick Rennegarbe apparently lost his footing and fell in.

His uncle was unable to rescue him, and Rennegarbe apparently suffocated quickly in the bin that had no oxygen and a temperature of 128 degrees.

Rennegarbe played basketball and baseball at Okawville High School in the late 1990s, then went on to referee high school and college basketball.

Services are pending with Campagna Funeral Home in Okawville.