H1N1 possible cause of deputy's death

November 7, 1:18 PMDayton Crime ExaminerDavid Willoughby

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Captain Mike Thornsberry / PCSO Photo

Eaton, Ohio - Residents of Preble County and members of the law enforcement family are mourning the loss of one of their protectors today.
     On Friday, November 6, 2009, shortly after 5pm, Captain Mike Thornsberry, an 18-year veteran and member of the Preble County Sheriff's Office since 1994 succumbed to an illness that hospitalized him 13 days prior.  He was diagnosed with H1N1, along with viral and bacterial pneumonia.  He died at Indiana University Hospital in Indiana after being airlifted there from Reid Memorial Hospital in Richmond, Indiana.
     Funeral arrangements are pending and should be made available on Sunday.  According to the Preble County Sheriff's Website, the following is a bio of Captain Thornsberry:

Captain Thornsberry is a 1989 Graduate from Versailles High School and the Montgomery County Joint Vocational School Law Enforcement Program.  He was a recipient of a scholarship from the Lowell Thomas Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police Associates and graduated the Mercer County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Basic Training Academy in 1991.

He began his career with the Ansonia, Ohio Police Department where he held the rank of Patrolman, Sergeant, Captain, and Acting Chief of Police. He was the Rossburg, Ohio Chief of Police for a short while and has also served as a part time patrolman for the Village of New Paris. 

In 1994 He was hired by the Preble County Sheriff’s office and has held the position of Corrections Officer, Transportation Officer, Corrections Sergeant, Deputy Sheriff and was promoted to the rank of Captain in July of 2008.

He has attended numerous advanced law enforcement schools and is a Certified Evidence Technician, a Technical Crash Investigator and is also an instructor certified through the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. 

Mike is the Immediate Past President of the Floyd E. Spitler Lodge# 158 of the Fraternal Order of Police and has served on the Board of Trustees for the Northwest Fire and Ambulance District. Captain Thornsberry and his wife Michelle currently reside in the New Paris area and are the parents of two children, Faith and Allie Grace.