Police Investigate Death Of Man Found Beaten In Rural Home

MIDDLETOWN, Ind. -- Police are searching for the killer of a man found brutally beaten in his rural home Monday.

The wife of Michael Patterson, 49, found him and called 911, police said.

"She said she just returned home and found her husband and she thought he may have been shot," said Henry County Sheriff Butch Baker.

Patterson was taken to an Anderson hospital, where he later died, 6News' Renee Jameson reported.

Police said they aren't sure what led to Patterson's death, but think he might have interrupted a burglary.

"There was what appeared to be forced entry to one of the doors in the house," Baker said.

The victim's wife returned home Tuesday to help detectives determine whether anything had been taken from the home.

"We don't have any hard evidence that points to any one direction at this time, so we're looking at everything," Baker said.

Neighbors told 6News that they are both saddened and scared.

"It's very frightening considering Middletown's a small town and there's not a whole lot of violence normally," said Barbara Shannon, who lives nearby.

Police said they are looking for a '90s-model red pickup truck with a utility bed that was seen near the crime scene on the day Patterson was killed.