October 11, 2004
By Brad Hudson
Rexburg -
A hunting accident over the weekend killed a 54 year old
Rigby man. He was shot by a member of his own hunting party.
It happened Sunday afternoon along the Snake River in
Madison County. When deputies they arrived, they found Kip Philip Leavitt
dead at the scene.
Investigators say the group was pushing through thre
brush. One of the hunters fired three shots at a deer, not knowing Leavitt
was near the target. The deer was hit two times. While the hunters were
processing the deer, they noticed Leavitt had not returned. They went out to
look for him and discovered he had been hit with a slug from the shotgun.
That's when they called 9-1-1. Authorities believe the first round hit
Leavitt.
"At this point, we believe it is completely an accident.
We don't believe charges will be filed at this time," says Madison County
Sheriff Roy Klinger.
It was one of Leavitt's friends who fire (sic) the shots.
Leavitt was not wearing hunter orange clothing.
The Sheriff's office says tragedies like this can be
avoided by wearing proper attire and knowing where all members of the
hunting party are before shooting.
Fair Use Notice: This document may contain copyrighted material
whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. We believe
that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes
a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section
107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted
material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must
obtain permission from the copyright owner.
