Man rescued from grain bin

BONNERS FERRY — A Boundary County man was rescued by quick-thinking emergency crews, neighbors and friends after he got trapped in a grain bin on Farm to Market Road on Monday.

Jim Sheldon went into the bin to unplug it after it became jammed during the loading of grain into trucks to be shipped.

Shelton was trapped up to his armpits in grain and those with him were unable to pull him out. The grain bin was approximately half empty, officials said.

A challenge of pulling him out was the need to pull straight up, said Ken Baker, Boundary Volunteer Ambulance. However, Baker said those assisting were finally able to place a plastic barrel — with the ends removed— around Shelton and vacuumed out the grain around him.

After several hours, Shelton was extricated from the grain bin by Hall Mountain Volunteer Fire Department and other volunteers.