“Tragedy at Atwood Lake Shocks the Heart of Ohio’s Amish Country”
Ruth Miller in sheriff's department bodycam footage. Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Department
To mark her 40th birthday on August 22, Ruth Miller and her husband Marcus, 45, considered taking their four children from rural Holmes County—the heart of Ohio’s Amish country—to Columbus, the state capital.
Ultimately, they chose a closer destination: Atwood Lake, a popular resort about 30 miles from their home offering boating, fishing, and pontoon and R.V. rentals. Family members, aware of the couple’s recent struggles with anxiety and apocalyptic religious beliefs, hoped the trip would lift their spirits.
Those hopes were shattered the day after Ruth’s birthday. Marcus and their 4-year-old son, Vincen, were missing, and Ruth told authorities a fantastical story: “I gave my son to God.” She claimed she had placed Vincen in the lake as a test of faith and that Marcus was safe inside a fish.
By the next morning, both Marcus and Vincen had drowned. Witnesses also reported seeing Ruth drive a golf cart into the lake with her three older children aboard—a behavior Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvil Campbell later called a “spiritual delusion.” Ruth now faces charges of assault and murder and has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. “This is not a whodunnit,” prosecutor Ryan Styer told the court, where a judge deemed Ruth competent to stand trial.
Ruth’s defense attorney, Ian Friedman, said, “She did do it. But that’s just one part of it. The big question is why.”
The tragedy shocked the Millers’ tight-knit community in Winesburg, Ohio. “That’s not who I knew the family to be, who I knew Ruth to be,” said neighbor Marion Miller, not related to the family. “The parents adored their kids.”
Holmes County is home to one of North America’s largest Amish populations. Ruth managed the household with the help of their 15-year-old daughter, Amber, while Marcus worked at Twin Oaks Barns building sheds, chicken coops, and outdoor furniture alongside their 18-year-old twin sons, Joel and Ethan, who enjoyed hunting and fishing.
“They were a very close, very loving family,” Marion Miller said. But over the prior six months, Ruth’s spiritual focus had shifted dramatically, raising concerns. Sheriff Campbell said she had become convinced the world was ending and fixated on Biblical references to the number 40—such as the 40-day-and-night flood in Noah’s story—which coincided with her birthday.
Family members urged her to seek mental health support, which is increasingly accepted among Amish communities, said clinical psychologist James A. Cates, author of Serving the Amish. “She never once talked about harming anyone,” Campbell said.
The day before the trip, a church leader and Marcus’s brother, Robert Miller, met with the couple to address their apocalyptic beliefs. They reportedly calmed down, giving hope that their extreme ideas had subsided.
On the first night at Atwood Lake, Ruth later told detectives, she and Marcus attempted to follow God’s instructions to walk on water and for Marcus to swim to a sandbar. Frustrated by their failure, they initially laughed it off, but Marcus left to try again alone.
When he didn’t return, Ruth took Vincen to search for him. She claimed God instructed her to throw Vincen into the water. After he resurfaced, she reportedly walked away, believing she had given him to God. She then brought her other children to the dock and, according to authorities, drove a golf cart with them into the lake.
Body camera footage shows Ruth calmly telling officers about giving Vincen to God and claiming Marcus was swallowed by a fish. Her daughter Amber reportedly told detectives, “She’s a good mom. She didn’t mean to do it,” in tears.
The Millers’ Old Order Amish Church in Holmes County issued a statement saying the events “do not reflect our teachings or beliefs but are instead a result of mental illness,” noting the family had previously received professional support.
Friedman emphasized Ruth’s suffering: “She was unable to appreciate the drowning of her own child. That says everything anyone should want to know about how she was suffering.” Cates added that delusions involving divine tests of faith are “relatively common across all religions” and can have tragic consequences.
“The community has forgiven her,” Marion Miller said. “The family has forgiven her. But actions have consequences. She’s in jail, and the justice system will determine the outcome.”
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to 741-741 to connect with a certified crisis counselor.
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