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Restaurant owner dies after locking himself inside freezer

A Tennessee restaurant owner was found dead after apparently accidentally locking himself inside a walk-in cooler, Fox 17 reports.

47-year-old Jay Luther was found early Monday by an employee at Germantown Cafe East, the restaurant Luther co-owned.

Police say the restaurant had lost power Friday, so the employees had placed food inside the cooler along with dry ice to keep it cool. When the power came back on Sunday, Luther apparently went inside the cooler to retrieve it and became trapped.They say it appears a button opening the cooler from the inside may have been broken.

Authorities say Luther may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of the dry ice.

Family members tell Fox 17 Luther was a family-oriented man who had a passion for cooking.

"Cooking was his passion it was his life and he passed away doing what he liked to do he was getting ready to prepare the next meal," Luther's brother-in- law, Peter Ruf told Fox 17.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/19/restaurant-owner-dies-after-apparently-getting-trapped-inside-freezer/#ixzz1yFB7yZ8a