Rescuer shocked by apparent suicide

The man who rescued Lee Duncan 36 hours after his car went off Spooner Summit expressed shock Sunday that the 65-year-old Gardnerville man apparently took his own life.

"I had no inkling anything was wrong," Ron Santi said Sunday. "I saw him Thursday and everything seemed to be fine."

Santi said he and Duncan were invited to participate in a radio talk show Sunday night about the Thanksgiving Eve.

"Lee was undecided and I heard this morning (Sunday) that he had declined," Santi said.

Authorities believe Duncan died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Saturday.

A body was found at the Douglas County Fairgrounds lying next to the car

Duncan had rented since the Thanksgiving Eve accident.

Documents found with the body, and the fact that the vehicle was being

leased by Duncan led investigators to believe the man is Duncan. Family members confirmed they'd not seen or heard from Duncan since Friday night.

Santi said he would never know if Duncan's Nov. 25 accident had been an earlier suicide attempt.

"That crossed my mind," he said. "If that's true, if that was his intent, I kind of meddled. Only Lee and his Maker know for sure. I don't feel I am the hero everyone thinks I am now."

Duncan was trapped in his car until Thanksgiving at the bottom of a hill while Santi drove up and down Spooner l before locating him behind trees along Clear Creek.

Santi said Sunday his friend of 10 years appeared to have lost weight since the accident.

"He hadn't looked well the last time I saw him, but I thought about the ordeal he went through -- two days out there," Santi said. "He was a very private person. If there was something bothering him, he kept it to himself. I can¹t speculate."

Santi said he visited with Duncan's family on Saturday after he learned of the tragedy.

"My heart just went out to them. I had to go see them. We hugged and talked a little. I wish he had left a note. Not that it makes it right, maybe I would understand it a little better. Maybe we'll get some answers down the road." Santi said he would rather concentrate on the contributions Duncan made to the community through the Lions Club.

"There's too many good things to remember about my friend Lee to judge him bad on this. He did so much good," he said. ³He touched so many lives, so many people benefited, that¹s what I need to dwell on."

The Gardnerville man who was found by a friend on Thanksgiving Day after a Nov. 25 accident on Highway 50 appears to have taken his own life.

Douglas County Sheriff's investigators are looking into the death of a man they believe was 65-year-old Edward Lee Duncan, after a body was found 8:05 a.m. Saturday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the man was discovered lying next to a rental car, with a shotgun nearby. The cause of death appears to be a single shot to the head.

Documents found with the body, and the fact that the vehicle was being leased by Duncan led investigators to believe the man is Duncan. Family members confirmed they'd not seen or heard from Duncan since Friday night.