Sheriff's family suffers three suicides

The Sandusky County Sheriff's Office is investigating the apparent suicide of a former jail corrections officer who is the daughter of a former sheriff. Chief Deputy Bruce Hirt confirmed today that Michelle A. Kindred died early Wednesday from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gun wound. The coroner has not made a final ruling, Hirt said. Detective Captain Sean O'Connell and two deputies were dispatched to a home at 79 Bethany Drive in Fremont just before midnight on Tuesday after receiving a report of a verbal altercation.Kindred was found injured in a bedroom at the residence and was rushed to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo.Her body was later transported to the Lucas County coroner's office. According to a 911 call, Kindred was drunk and angry according to a male caller who said he was at the residence to get his things. "She's just trying to pick a fight with me," the man said. That call disconnects, but the sheriff's dispatcher recontacts the man moments later. "Hurry. Send an ambulance," he cries out. "I was leaving and locked the door and she went in her room. I heard a gunshot and now she's lying on the ground." O'Connell's report of the incident is not yet complete, Hirt said. Michelle Kindred, 50, worked for many years at the Sandusky County Jail but resigned in 2010 after she admitted having an improper relationship with an inmate.Former Sheriff Joseph C. Kindred Jr., Michelle's father, was first elected sheriff in 1972. He died in 2004 well after he'd retired, and his death also was eventually ruled a suicide, Hirt confirmed. Sheriff Kindred's son, Joseph C. Kindred III was involved in a shootout with Sandusky County law enforcement in May 1986, and his death also was eventually ruled a suicide, according to Hirt. The Associated Press gave the following account of that incident shortly after it occurred: Kindred III was found dead in the basement of a home in which he had barricaded himself. He had forced his wife from their home at gunpoint. When officers arrived, police said, he began shooting at them.The neighborhood was evacuated, and shots were exchanged throughout the evening, police said.At about 4 a.m., police called in an armored personnel carrier from the nearby Davis-Besse nuclear power plant and lobbed tear gas into the house.Forty minutes later, officers went inside the house and discovered Kindred's body, police said.