Editor’s Note: This article contains discussions of suicide. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can find resources in your area on the National Crisis Line website or by calling 988.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Two Jet Skiers on Nevada’s Lake Mead located the body of a missing veterinarian, who the coroner’s office later determined drowned after taking a sedative, according to documents obtained Tuesday.
Shawn Frehner disappeared in April after a video showing him kicking a horse went viral. Frehner’s family filed a missing persons report before the media reported the incident.
The search for Frehner began at Lake Mead after his keys, wallet and cellphone were found in his truck parked at Hemenway Harbor on April 7. Crews later found Frehner’s body near the Boulder Islands within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on April 18. Rangers also located ankle weights on his body, documents said.
Frehner’s identity was confirmed on April 19 through dental records.
As a vet, the coroner’s office noted Frehner had “access to multiple medications used for euthanasia of large animals.”
The coroner’s office confirmed Frehner’s cause of death was drowning with the use of pentobarbital. His manner of death was listed as suicide.
Pentobarbital is a barbiturate, which is a type of medication that acts as a central nervous system depressant. It is also a common animal euthanasia drug in the United States and Canada, according to the National Library of Medicine.
A video showed Frehner jabbing a horse in the face before he went missing. The video also showed Frehner flushing a horse’s nose with a syringe — a normal practice. Shortly after, he is seen jabbing the horse in the face.
In his apology, Frehner said he was attempting to reposition the horse to help it breathe, but recognized he had kicked the horse. He said he wished the situation had never happened.
He was the subject of an investigation by Nye County deputies for animal cruelty following a complaint from the horse’s owner.