By JOHN STROMNES of the Missoulian
ARLEE - Lake County Undersheriff and Coroner Mike Sargeant said
Monday that Francis Plante Jr., 16, of Arlee died Saturday of a
single gunshot wound to the chest, a victim of an apparent hunting
accident.
Plante was hunting with a family friend and a family member and
was shot by a member of the hunting party. Sargeant said he would
not identify the person responsible for the shooting, pending further
investigation and consultation with the Lake County attorney's
office.
The state medical examiner's report has been received, he said,
and the cause of death was the gunshot wound.
He said everything in the investigation is consistent with a hunting
accident. Plante died of a single gunshot wound to the chest from
a high-powered hunting rifle. The shooting was reported to the
sheriff's office about 5:30 p.m. Saturday by a member of the hunting
party.
The three, all members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai
Tribes, were hunting in mountains west of Arlee on the Flathead
Indian Reservation. They split up when they saw a buck running
up a hill. Plante was mistaken for the deer.
Plante was a resident of Arlee and a student at Two Eagle River
School in Pablo.
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