Given how unpredictable the world can be, it’s no wonder life feels so fragile.
Anyone who has ever lost a loved one knows how swiftly everything can change — and how heartbreakingly cruel fate can be.
But few have endured the kind of gut-wrenching shock that faced Jared Blackwelder, a dairy farmer from Springfield, Missouri, and his wife, Misty. What began as an ordinary Saturday morning — feeding their herd like they had countless times before — turned into a nightmare they never saw coming.
The tragedy occurred back in 2017, but the sheer strangeness of how it unfolded still makes it a haunting and unforgettable story today.
According to reports, Jared and Misty Blackwelder set out that morning to feed their beloved dairy cows, feeling a sense of relief that the recent flooding in their area had finally subsided.
Though dark clouds loomed on the horizon and distant thunder echoed across the sky, the couple saw no immediate threat. Trusting the calm between storms, they left their 32 cows to graze peacefully in the pasture—never imagining it would be the last time they’d see them alive.
But just hours later, Jared and Misty returned to their pasture — only to be met with a scene of absolute devastation.
All 32 of their dairy cows had been struck by a single, catastrophic lightning strike. In an instant, their entire herd was wiped out, their lifeless bodies lying in a haunting pile where they had once peacefully grazed.
The Wright County Missouri Farm Bureau later shared images of the tragedy, urging the public to keep the Blackwelders in their thoughts and prayers.
“This kind of thing does happen,” said MFB President Stan Cody in an interview with CBS News. “But what made this case so heartbreaking was the sheer number of animals lost. It’s just unimaginable.”
A local veterinarian examined the scene and confirmed what Jared and Misty feared most: the cows had all died from a lightning strike. In his career, he’d never seen more than six cows killed in a single incident — but he speculated that the herd may have been huddled together for shelter when the bolt struck, multiplying the tragedy.
Jared, devastated by the loss, struggled to put his grief into words.
“They’re not like pets,” he said quietly. “But the ones I milk—I’ve raised every single one of them. With dairy cattle, it’s different. You see them morning and night. You care for them every day. It knocks you hard.”
Beyond the emotional toll, the financial blow was equally staggering. With each cow valued between $2,000 and $2,500, the Blackwelders suffered a loss exceeding $60,000 — a crushing hit for a small family farm.