Perry Co. Jail inmate dies after hanging himself

A Fredericktown, Missouri, man died Monday from injuries sustained days earlier during an attempted suicide in the Perry County Jail, Sheriff Gary Schaaf said Wednesday.

Ryan C. Fadler, aka Shawn Wakefield, 39, was being held in the Perry County Jail on a 150-day commitment order for forgery.

Schaaf said it was later discovered Fadler had smuggled marijuana and a lighter into the jail.

On March 22, Fadler "hung himself in the holding cell in the booking area," Schaaf said. Jail staff immediately responded and began CPR while waiting for an ambulance to arrive, he said.

Fadler had regained a pulse and was breathing when he arrived at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He subsequently was taken by air ambulance to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

On Monday, Perry County Coroner Bill Bohnert notified the sheriff's office that Fadler had died, Schaaf said.