{"id":26567,"date":"2025-05-01T22:16:52","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T22:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=26567"},"modified":"2025-05-01T22:16:52","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T22:16:52","slug":"rodeo-legend-roy-cooper-found-dead-in-his-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=26567","title":{"rendered":"Rodeo Legend Roy Cooper Found Dead in His Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

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What began as a routine emergency call quickly turned into a high-profile investigation when first responders discovered a rodeo icon dead inside a burning Texas home.<\/p>\n

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Roy Cooper, the ProRodeo Hall of Famer and eight-time world champion calf roper, was found dead Tuesday evening after a fire destroyed his home in Decatur, Texas. He was 69.<\/p>\n

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According to Wise County officials, the fire was reported at 7:08 p.m. on April 29, 2025, in the 600 block of County Road 3051.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Emergency crews from Wise County EMS and the Decatur Fire Department arrived on the scene approximately seven minutes later and found the large, single-story home fully engulfed in flames.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Roy<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Roy Cooper is seen in one of his video interviews, dated July 25, 2023 | Source: YouTube\/Resistol<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Wise County EMS Rescue-1 and Decatur Fire Department arrived on scene approximately seven minutes [after the initial 911 call] and observed a single-family residence heavily involved in fire,” Wise County Fire Marshal Jeff Doughty\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0in a press release. “They immediately started to extinguish the fire and were notified that a victim may still be inside the residence.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Doughty confirmed that the body of Roy Dale Cooper was discovered inside the home at approximately 7:30 p.m. Cooper was pronounced dead by Wise County Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace Jan Morrow. His body was transported to the Dallas County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office for further examination.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Roy<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Roy Cooper is seen with his friends, in a photo dated April 30, 2025 | Source: Facebook\/travis.taylor.186<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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At around 10:45 p.m., the Tarrant County Arson Task Force arrived to assist in determining the fire’s origin and cause. The Wise County Fire Marshal’s Office, Tarrant County Fire and Arson Investigators Task Force, Wise County Sheriff’s Office, and Texas Rangers are all actively involved in the ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Wise County EMS Chief Randall Preuninger explained that while firefighters were unable to enter the home during the initial stages, reports from family members and the presence of Cooper’s vehicles helped confirm a fatality at the scene.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“They pulled up to the main house, which was completely involved and then pulled around to the second house, protecting exposure behind there,” Preuninger\u00a0said<\/a>. “Then, at that point, they were able to determine a fatality.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Roy Cooper is seen in a photo dated April 30, 2025 | Source: Facebook\/travis.taylor.186<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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No additional injuries were reported. Multiple departments responded to the fire, including the Decatur Fire Department, Wise County EMS, New Fairview Fire Rescue, Greenwood-Slidell Volunteer Fire Department, Wise County ESD No. 1, and Wise County ESD No. 3.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On April 30, 2025, Cooper’s son, Tuf Cooper,\u00a0shared<\/a>\u00a0the family’s grief in a public post on his official Facebook page, “It is with great sadness that our family shares the passing of our Dad, The Super Looper, Roy Cooper. We’re all in shock and at a loss for words from this tragedy at the moment.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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