Dad of 2 Found Dead Inside CVS Trash Compactor After Wife Tracks His Phone

A routine workday ended in unthinkable tragedy after a 34-year-old Ohio father was discovered dead inside a trash compactor behind the CVS where he’d been doing contract work, officials said.

Andrew Strand, a Brunswick dad of two, vanished on the evening of Feb. 4. When he didn’t return home, his worried wife used a phone-tracking app — and what she found sparked a frantic search. His cellphone pinged at a CVS on Chagrin Boulevard in Shaker Heights, where he’d reportedly been working that day.

Police arrived around 10 p.m., and according to Shaker Heights Police Commander John Cole, officers searched the property before making a horrifying discovery: Strand’s body was inside the store’s trash compactor.

Authorities have not yet revealed how Strand ended up inside the machine, and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner is still working to determine cause and manner of death. The investigation remains ongoing.

Strand, remembered as a hands-on dad and devoted husband, had recently launched his own mechanic business and was described on a GoFundMe page as a loving father who coached his son’s hockey and baseball teams and cheered on his daughter in dance and gymnastics. Nearly $15,000 has been raised toward funeral expenses.

“Andy’s passing was sudden and unexpected, leaving his family in disarray,” the fundraiser reads.

CVS told Cleveland 19 News that the company is cooperating fully with investigators as they work to piece together what happened in the hours before Strand’s death.