Hillsboro teen found dead 2½ hours after ATV crash at lake

A 16-year-old Hillsboro boy who disappeared from friends three hours earlier while driving a red-and-white all-terrain vehicle was found dead at 11:25 p.m. Saturday a quarter mile east of the south end of Marion County Lake’s dam.

The parents of Seth Michael Mader had reported their son missing only two minutes earlier. They found him lying face down in a pool of blood, tangled in a pile of rocks in a ravine, according to monitored transmissions.

According to Kansas Highway Patrol, the 16-year-old had been westbound on 170th Rd. 2½ hours earlier, at 9 p.m., and failed to negotiate a curve. His Yamaha ATV left the roadway and came to rest in a ditch, apparently on Lakeshore Dr. He was not wearing a helmet, the highway patrol reported.

Marion and Hillsboro ambulances and Marion firefighters and rescue squad members were dispatched. An air ambulance also was called but was unable to fly because of weather. All but the Marion units were told to disregard the call, and a coroner was called instead.

Sheriff’s deputies, the sheriff and undersheriff, a Marion police officer, and a state trooper all were dispatched to investigate.