Roll of Honor
Nathan John Van Oort, Sr.
Incident
Police Officer Nathan Van Oort succumbed to injuries sustained nine years earlier when he was struck by lightning while representing the Ohio University Police Department in the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run.
The group of participants had stopped at a preschool, at 28841 Chieftan Drive in Logan, and were inside a picnic shelter when the lightning strike occurred. Other officers on scene performed CPR for 20 minutes until he was stabilized enough for transport to a local hospital. Several other officers and participants were injured.
Officer Van Oort never fully recovered from his injuries and passed away as a result on November 7th, 2015.
Officer Van Oort was an Ohio National Guard veteran and had served with the Ohio University Police Department for four years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, four children, mother, and three siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-33BD3AC7- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Police Officer Van Oort gave the Ohio University Police Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Athens community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Nathan John Van Oort, Sr. served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Police Officer Nathan John Van Oort, Sr. is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In OH, 318 of 991 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.1% of this state's fallen. That is 1.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Nathan John Van Oort, Sr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Nathan John Van Oort, Sr. Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Nathan John Van Oort, Sr. is highlighted in Nov.