Friday evening, about 7:45, Police responded to the report of gunfire in the 200 block of South Castle Street. Officers made contact with multiple witnesses and learned of a domestic incident. Multiple rounds had been fired from the street into the air, prior to the subject leaving the scene.
A few minutes later, Miami County Sheriff’s Officers were called to 327th Street, west of Lookout Road, on a report that a vehicle was in the pond upside down about 150 feet off the roadway. Rescue efforts turned into recovery and, according to the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, 31 year old Forest Sears, from Paola, was pulled from the car and pronounced dead on the scene. According to witnesses and a preliminary investigation, the vehicle was westbound on 327th Street, when it left the roadway to the left. The vehicle went through a cemetery and a front yard before entering the pond.
Paola Police have determined that the shooting incident and the fatality accident were directly related. The crash is still under investigation by the Miami County Sheriff’s Office and the Paola Police Department.
