Former Hardy volunteer fire chief Jeffrey Lee Shifflett -- who was indicted Tuesday on embezzlement charges -- was found dead of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home this morning, according to the Bedford County Sheriff's Office.

County dispatchers received a call at about 9:30 a.m. from Shifflett's home on Turner Branch Road, according to a news release. The caller reported that a man was dead. When deputies arrived at the house they found Shifflett on the floor of the garage, which is near the house. A small handgun was found near his body, the news release said.

Maj. Ricky Gardner said the wound appears to be self-inflicted. His body has been taken to the medical examiner's office in Roanoke for an autopsy, the news release said.

Shifflett, his wife and adult son were indicted by a grand jury Tuesday and charged with embezzling more than $100,000 from the Hardy Volunteer Fire Company, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Krantz .

Jeffrey Shifflett, 51, who served as Hardy volunteer chief for close to 20 years, was charged with one count of forgery and 13 counts of embezzlement. He is accused of forging another fire department member’s name to open a bank account, Krantz said.

His wife, Deborah Lynne Shifflett, faces 13 embezzlement charges, and his son, Cory Mitchell Shifflett, is charged with seven counts of embezzlement.

An exact dollar figure from charges was unavailable Tuesday, but Krantz said he estimates $150,000 to $200,000 is at issue — some of which may have been used in a lump sum to purchase an automobile.

The Shifflett case  prompted the Bedford County Board of Supervisors to pass a new fiscal accountability policy last month for departments  such as Hardy fire company that receive county funding.

Based on a prior state police investigation, which included a search of Shifflett’s home, the case that brought the charges and community reaction was built on such evidence as:

• The Hardy fire department had 11 Shell credit cards to use for buying gasoline for company vehicles. State police investigators discovered that three cards that are missing had been used by Jeffrey Shifflett and his family members to buy gas for personal vehicles.
• Shifflett used his fire company Visa card to buy several items, including a gun at the Vinton Pawn Shop, as well as clothing and other items from Gander Mountain, Sportsman’s Warehouse and other stores. He also used checks and a debit card associated with one of the department’s checking accounts to buy things at Wal-Mart and other businesses that had nothing to do with the department’s needs.
• Shifflett used department money to make online purchases that had no connection to department business, and that he made frequent cash withdrawals of several hundred dollars from the department accounts.
• Checks for thousands of dollars were made out to  Shifflett that in department records are listed as funds used for training. But there are no records that any member of the department, including Shifflett, received any training.

Jeffrey Shifflett was placed on administrative leave in late March when county officials learned he was the target of the state police investigation. In addition to serving as volunteer chief in Hardy, Shifflett served as a deputy fire marshal in the county.