According to a press release from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, on October 19, 2025, their deputies responded to a report of a single-vehicle crash in the area of Range Road and 250 North (Brems area).
Upon arrival, deputies located an unoccupied vehicle that had left the roadway and struck a tree.
Deputies began searching the area for the driver but were unable to locate anyone nearby. An investigation was initiated, and contact was made with family and friends of the registered owner; however, no one had knowledge of his whereabouts or was able to reach him by phone.
Deputies requested assistance from the Hamlet Fire Department and Knox-Center Township Fire Department to aid in the search. With the help of area citizens, the driver was later located deceased inside an abandoned home just down the road from the crash scene.
The driver has been identified as 18-year-old Logan Cooke. The preliminary investigation indicates that speed and leaving the roadway were contributing factors in the crash.
This incident remains under investigation by the Starke County Sheriff’s Office.
