Ellison Bay Disaster Community Portal

Evidence doesn’t justify criminal prosecution, district attorney says

By Paige Funkhouser
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers • Green Bay Press-Gazette

STURGEON BAY — The Door County district attorney has decided not to file criminal charges against any person or business responsible for the fatal Ellison Bay explosions on July 10.

District Attorney Raymond Pelrine’s decision will not have an effect on the civil lawsuit filed on behalf of the survivors of the couple killed in one explosion, according to an attorney for the family.

Patrick and Margaret Higdon were staying at the Cedar Grove Resort at the time of the explosions and were killed; their three children were injured. The family was on vacation from their home in Michigan.

A statement from Pelrine was released Monday, along with the Door County Sheriff’s Department report of the explosions and the investigation. Pelrine’s statement, dated March 1, outlined the events leading up to the explosions.

Pelrine said on Tuesday that he would not comment beyond the written statement.

Propane lines for the expansion of the Cedar Grove Resort were installed in 1999, but not recorded with any government or utility registry (registration is not required by state or federal law), Pelrine wrote. In March 2006, Cedar Grove Resort owners contacted PortSide Construction to upgrade electrical services to the resort docks. When PortSide visited the site in April, propane lines were not identified, nor were they identified by a subcontractor for Digger’s Hotline. Two phone lines were identified, but not buried gas lines.

Arby’s Construction, a subcontractor for Wisconsin Public Service Corp., dug trenches to install the electric lines July 7 and damaged the buried propane lines, which began leaking into the ground. These severed lines were located July 12 by investigators. The ignition source of the July 10 explosions may never be known, Pelrine wrote.

“I do not believe evidence exists to justify a criminal prosecution of any individual or entity for conduct leading up to the explosions and loss of life at the Cedar Grove Resort on July 10, 2006,” Pelrine wrote. “I find no evidence of any intentional conduct, nor do I find evidence of anything meeting the criminal code definition of first- or second-degree recklessness.”

One of the Higdons’ Michigan attorneys, Stuart Sklar, of Fabian, Sklar & King. P.C., said Tuesday that the decision not to file criminal charges will not affect the civil lawsuit case his practice is building for the children and other family members injured in the explosions.

“The matter will be resolved in the federal district court case that we filed,” Sklar said. “We are confident that the (parties responsible for the explosion) will be held accountable for this tragedy.”

The civil suit filed Sept. 22 claimed negligence by four companies — Cedar Grove Resort Inc., Arby Construction Inc., PortSide Properties Inc., and Wisconsin Public Service Corp. — regarding the severing of the propane pipeline. The suit asks the companies to pay for injuries and damages for the children and other involved family members and for the wrongful deaths of Patrick and Peggy Higdon.

WPS spokesman Kerry Spees said the district attorney’s decision will not affect the utility’s case or preparations for the civil suit, and the company will continue to cooperate with any further investigations.

“This was a tragic circumstance,” Spees said, “but I can’t really comment on the case.”