On the afternoon of Wednesday, February 28, 2024, a violent incident disrupted the typically peaceful atmosphere of Clifty Falls State Park in Madison, Indiana. At approximately 2:45 p.m., emergency dispatchers received multiple 911 calls reporting a shooting near the park's North Gate parking lot. Officers from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, and the City of Madison Police Department rapidly converged on the scene to
investigate the disturbance.
Upon arrival, law enforcement officials discovered the body of 47-year-old Joseph 'Joey' Renee Lane near the parking area. Lane, a resident of Carrollton, Georgia, had sustained an apparent gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was remembered by those who knew him as an avid outdoorsman who worked in construction but held a lifelong dream of being a cowboy. His personal interests included horseback riding, playing horseshoes, and listening to music.
Authorities quickly identified a suspect at the scene, 33-year-old John Dean McElwaney from Tallapoosa, Georgia. Both the victim and the suspect were from the same region in Georgia, though the specific nature of their relationship or the motive behind the confrontation was not immediately disclosed by investigators. Police described the shooting as an isolated event, emphasizing that there was no broader threat to the public after the suspect was detained.
McElwaney was taken into custody without further incident and was subsequently booked into the Jefferson County Jail early the following morning. He faced a preliminary charge of voluntary manslaughter, a Level 2 felony under Indiana law. The investigation was led jointly by DNR detectives and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, with the park’s North Gate temporarily closed to facilitate the collection of evidence and the processing of the crime scene.
