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Last Updated: 02/11/2005
The Rockbridge Report is produced
under the supervision of the Dept. of Journalism and Mass Communications
at Washington and Lee University.
Reporting supervisors: Prof. Doug Cumming
Technical supervisor:
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Hunter
murder in 2003 remains unsolved By Michael Patterson David Stack, 44, failed to return from his turkey hunt on the night of April 12 and was reported missing. Search and rescue workers found his body in the woods near Saville Hill the next morning--he had been shot in the back. Stack was a general contractor from Nanjemoy, Md. He had hunted turkey and deer since he was a child, and shared his passion for the outdoors with his son Brian. Stack’s search for trophy turkeys brought him to Rockbridge County on the opening day of spring gobbler season in April 2003. Stack’s case is unusual because there are no witnesses and no suspects. According to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, it is uncommon in a hunting-related accident for the shooter not to come forward or offer assistance. Stack’s was the first hunting related murder by an unidentified shooter in Virginia since 1990. “I don’t know how that person can live with themselves,” said Tammy Stack, David’s wife of 23 years. “Someone is out there who knows what happened and the only right thing to do is come forward.” Tammy is still working to find her husband’s killer. She has raised over $36,000 from anonymous donors to offer as a reward for information leading to the arrest of her husband’s killer. Stack’s case was also featured on Fox’s America’s Most Wanted in November 2003. The investigation of Stack’s murder is being led by Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' law enforcement division. Lt. Steve Shires, one of the department's game wardens, said he could not reveal any details about the case because it is still under investigation. So far, no arrests have been made. A shocking reminder of Stack's murder in Rockbridge County came recently in a Wisconsin case. Chai Soua Vang, a Hmong immigrant charged with shooting six people to death and injuring two others near Birchwood, Wis., recently pleaded not guilty to six counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. Vang allegedly opened fire on a group of deer hunters with his semiautomatic assault rifle after a dispute over a tree stand. The group confronted Vang because he was hunting on private property. Vang told the group he was trespassing unintentionally because he thought he was on public land. An argument ensued, and surviving witnesses say that is when Vang chased down and killed six members of their hunting party. These unusual murders have attracted national media attention, and they are causing hunters across the country to wonder if the woods safe anymore. “I never feel safe hunting on public lands,” said Robert Humston, a biology professor at Virginia Military Institute. Humston, a turkey hunter for 15 years, has hunted on public land in Rockbridge County several times over the past two years. “It seems like the main goal of public hunting land is to increase access, and more access increases your chances of running into other hunters,” he said. Humston had one close call while hunting on public land in Pennsylvania. “I called in a turkey to about 100 yards from my position, and had it shot by another hunter,” he said. Many turkey hunters use “calls” that mimic the gobbling sound of female turkeys to attract the male birds. Humston said that certain aspects of turkey hunting make it difficult to avoid accidents when the woods are packed with hunters. “In turkey hunting you are in full camouflage, and you’re creating the sound of the animal that other hunters are cluing in on,” he said. He said that most turkey hunting accidents result from bad judgment because hunters often pull the trigger before they can clearly identify what they are shooting. Although he never takes his safety for granted when hunting on public land, Humston admits that hunting has gotten much safer over the past 15 years. “Hunter education practices across states are much better now than when I grew up,” he said. U.S. state and game agencies began offering hunter education programs in 1949. In Virginia, residents are now required by law to complete a free hunter education course before they can be issued a hunting license. The ten hour courses teach hunter and firearm safety, target identification, sportsmanship and principles of conservation. According to Lt. Scott Reynolds, a game warden who oversees Virginia’s hunter education program, mandatory hunter education has played a primary role in the reduction of hunting-related incidents in Virginia. He says hunting accidents have decreased by over 20% in Virginia since hunter education became mandatory. According to annual hunting incident reports compiled by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, both fatal and non-fatal hunting accidents have decreased over the past five years. In the 1999-2000 season, there were 5 fatal and 38 non-fatal accidents in Virginia. In the 2003-2004 season there were only 2 fatal and 26 non-fatal incidents. Four people have been killed turkey hunting in the past five years. Virginia is following a national trend of safer hunting practices. According to the International Hunter Education Association, hunting is becoming safer every year in the United States. The International Hunter Education Association reported 137 fatal and 1,376 non-fatal hunting accidents in 1990. In 2001, (the last year for which data is available) the organization recorded only 75 fatal and 716 non-fatal accidents out of an estimated 14.6 million hunters, which is a 45% reduction in hunter fatalities in ten years. “Failure to identify target” is listed by the International Hunter Education Association and Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries as the most common cause of hunting incidents. Curtis Breeding, president of the Virginia chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, believes these types of incidents can be easily avoided. “There is no excuse for that kind of accident,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of people that act like turkeys…but I’ve never seen someone that looks like a turkey.” He advises hunters to wear blaze orange clothing when walking to and from their hunting sites, and to hang a blaze orange indicator behind their hunting position. These highly visible signals help hunters more easily identify other hunters. Breeding, who has hunted turkey for over 40 years, said that human error is a part of hunting that cannot ever be avoided completely. “I don’t know if we can pass any law that can truly keep us all safe,” he said. |
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