11.07.2011

Bad weekend for Minnesota deer stand hunters

3 hunters die in the field; others injured

Excerpt:

A 51-year-old hunter from Sartell who fell from his deer stand in north-central Minnesota was fatally shot by his own gun, authorities said Monday. His body was found about 10 a.m. Sunday near his stand in Beulah Township, near Outing, after authorities were alerted that a hunter was missing, according to the Cass County Sheriff's Office. His identity has not yet been released.

Saturday's death near Saum of Gene A. Berthiaume, 72, of St. Paul, was determined Monday to be a result of natural causes, not injuries from falling from his deer stand as had been suspected Sunday, according to Beltrami County Sheriff Phil Hodapp.

Arthur Joseph Knafla died about 9:45 a.m. Saturday in Lavell Township, southeast of Hibbing, when his clothing caught fire as he tried to light a propane heater in his stand. The 84-year-old Maple Grove man fell from the stand when his clothes began burning, the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office said.

Several hunters were injured in falls from tree stands, one seriously enough to require evacuation by helicopter,

Comment: The serious injury is a Baptist pastor from Brainerd who sustained a broken back. My brother (hunter, firearms expect, and instructor of hunter safety) was lecturing my middle son last week about the dangers of tree stands. His view (my brother's) .. real hunters don't need a tree stand. A helpful article on tree stand safety.

1 comment:

  1. He was my pastor for 16 years, starting when my family moved to the Twin Cities when I was 10. It was tough to hear the news of his injury this weekend.

    ReplyDelete

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