WV: Accident or Murder?

October 27, 2009

Accident or Murder?

Fayetteville - A Greenbrier County man is dead after being shot while turkey hunting in Fayette County. Investigators do not believe his death was related to hunting, but are treating it as a homicide. "His brother-in-law located him and reported to us he'd been shot while he was hunting," said Fayette County Sheriff Steve Kessler. "We're treating it as a homicide right now, because we can't rule anything out."

The victim is 50-year-old Clarence Stroud III of Rainelle. He was turkey hunting on property he owns in Fayette County. Sheriff Kessler says he was shot with a shotgun at close range.

"He was camouflaged, but not really hidden," said Kessler. "We don't have any witnesses. We're canvassing the area to see if anybody saw anybody hunting in that area yesterday (Monday)."

Fayette County deputies, West Virginia State Police, and conservation officers from the DNR are trying to find clues that would indicate who might have been with Stroud when he was killed. So far, they don't have any leads.

"To me, this is my opinion, whoever did that probably saw him. They were pretty close to him,” Sheriff Kessler said.

Return to Hunting Accident Index

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.

C.A.S.H.
P.O. Box 13815, Las Cruces, NM 88013
Phone: 575-640-7372
E-mail:

C.A.S.H. is a committee of Wildlife Watch, Inc.
a 501(c)3 Not-for-Profit Corporation.
Contributions are tax-deductible.