My 7 year old nephew was shot by a hunter while playing on the school playground!
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**DebiDebiDebi** · 01-09-2004, 09:39 AM

Just saw a 3 minute report on the early am news about this, my sister in law, &the superintendent of schools were interviewed...not surprisingly, the sheriff's department had "NO COMMENT". Go figure...

TiggGrrrl · 01-09-2004, 10:33 AM

<font color="blue"> That's so scary! Thank God he wasn't seriously injured! Prayers and pixie dust to the little guy to help him through

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TinkerAnn · 01-09-2004, 10:44 AM

Wow...I am blown away by this one. I'm not even sure what to say that hasn't already been said. I hope that your nephew emotionally is okay. I could imagine that he possibly wouldn't want to go back to school or go back to the play yard. Praying for your family.

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FWIW, my husband's best friend's cousin drown while fishing late last fall and the local yokel county sherrif did NOTHING to help find his body. Fact of the matter is that he is still in that lake under several feet of ice until spring. They wish they had complained to the media much earlier; his wife might have been able to at least put the funeral behind her.

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I've always lived in the south so super cold weather has never been an issue for anything like this. Is this normal?? I can't imagine really having to wait for 4+ months to finalize a death when you know where the body is! I remember seeing something like this on Northern Exposure but I guess I just thought it was a good story not reality.

**HiddenMickey** · 01-09-2004, 11:08 AM

WOWZER---What an awful thing!! Thank god he'll be OK.
I worry about this kind of thing ever year when hunting season starts. Several years ago a couple shots came over the playground in our neighborhood and scared the bejeezus out of the moms that were there at the time. Now there are houses built around so it likely won't happen there....thank goodness. But I drive through hunting areas to take my kids to school every day...and I fear a stray shot hitting our car (try not to think about it too much though). -HiddenMickey

GoofyMom · 01-09-2004, 11:49 AM

I'm absolutely in shock!

for Nathan and his brother and parents!

I'm infuriated by the apathy of the sheriff and what the *%&#+! is wrong with the school that they call it a snowball! I don't normally condone a lot of the personal injury lawsuits that you hear about, but Hello Lawyer! There were just so many wrongs committed here and sometimes it does take the threat of legal action to get changes made so at least it will never happen again. Do they know who the hunter is? In Canada he'd have been charged with something like Reckless use of a Firearm, Assault with a Deadly Weapon and even possibly 2nd degree attempted murder or something.

goofy4goofy · 01-09-2004, 12:01 PM

Prayers and pixie dust for Nathan and your family.

Kelly

mrsmaup · 01-09-2004, 12:21 PM

[ QUOTE ]
FWIW, my husband's best friend's cousin drown while fishing late last fall and the local yokel county sherrif did NOTHING to help find his body. Fact of the matter is that he is still in that lake under several feet of ice until spring. They wish they had complained to the media much earlier; his wife might have been able to at least put the funeral behind her.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've always lived in the south so super cold weather has never been an issue for anything like this. Is this normal?? I can't imagine really having to wait for 4+ months to finalize a death when you know where the body is! I remember seeing something like this on Northern Exposure but I guess I just thought it was a good story not reality.

[/ QUOTE ]

It CAN be normal. If you say, drown in a river or large lake and they cant find your body before the ice gets too thick, then it becomes a public safety risk to those who are searching for your body and they MAY leave the body in there until spring, but they usually try their best to recover the body for the family.

In my husband's friend's case, his cousin was fishing in a lake CHOKED by cattails, weeds, tall grass, etc(making it very difficult to locate his body). The first 2 days, my dh, his friend(cousin of drown man), several family members and 2 reps from the sherrif's office tried to find him, as the days wore on and they knew he was dead(and not trapped alive in the brush), the sherrif's dept went from 10 folks(a high)to 1, who sat in his car. The sherrif never did make it to the site until the 5th day or so(which is VERY unusual in this type of county, where the sherrif is personally involved in everything) and his answer to the mans mother was "well its not like we dont know where the body is". Nice Tactful answer.

All the sherrif's office had to do was notify the local radio station that they were looking for volunteers and they would have had more then they knew what to do with, but they never did that, they just kept either making excuses or blowing the whole thing off totally. Now his wife will have to wait till sometime between the end of March-May, depending on what spring is like to get the body back.

My dh and his friend tried to go out there last week adn drill holes trying to find his body, but it was so cold and the snowdrifts were so high, that the truck got stuck and the 4-wheelers would not start. They will be the only ones looking for that body in teh winter and will probably get a ticket from the sherrif's dept for unauthorized searching of a body or some stupid thing.

In this case, they would have been better off if they had IMMEDIATELY contacted the media when it became obvious taht the Sherrif was a buffoon. They didnt and now its too late. THAT is why I said to contact the media right away.

LisaJ · 01-09-2004, 12:59 PM

I know that I am going to offend some people by saying this, but cops are not the brightest bunch. I'm sorry, I know many peronally (my very best friend, my mother-in-law, her husband, and others of high rank, captain, etc). I know that there are those that are bright, but this is such par for the course. I speak from a GREAT DEAL of experience on this matter. This is not just some off-the-cuff retort.

There are laws that prevent people from hunting near populated areas, you know, x-number of feet or yards from a certain zone. I would bet money that this law was broken. Also, would the sheriff say to the parents, after their son was KILLED, ..."well, you know, it's just hunting season..."

The mentality just blows my mind. I would be SO furious if my child was shot.

To answer a previous reply, YES, it DOES take somone being killed before anything is ever done. No one has any common sense anymore.

I'm so sorry your family has to go through this. It's always a nightmare when dealing with the law, etc.

lkmom · 01-09-2004, 01:22 PM

So very sorry for your whole family. You are all in my prayers.

A. Monster · 01-09-2004, 01:52 PM

I cannot believe this! How scary for all of you, thank God he's ok!

There has got to be some guideline about how close to a residential area (especially a school!) that hunting can take place! Good Lord! I am so glad you all have gone to the media about this and not just taken the useless remarks from the school and law. The poor kid's going to be afraid to play outside (at least I know I would be).

simbarel · 01-09-2004, 02:06 PM

I love it when obvious boneheads carry loaded weapons...and then use them.

I'm so glad for your family that this situation didn't turn out worse. It's great that the family is demanding public scrutiny because this scandal sounds pretty dangerous!

loobyoxlip · 01-09-2004, 04:18 PM

Oh my gosh!! That gave me goosebumps. How incredibly scary!!!! Your BIL and SIL should be incredibly p.o.'ed and take whatever action is doable. I hope something good happens from this (new laws, etc.) Your family is in our thoughts.

**rescuesk** · 01-09-2004, 05:16 PM

OMG!!!! How awful!! Is your sheriff appointed or elected? If he is elected (as ours is) it may be time to campaign for a new sheriff.

Here is some pixie dust for Nate and all of you:

{{{Hugs}}}

Sue

KathyL · 01-09-2004, 05:41 PM

It is not ok for anyone to get shot especially a child. What were people thinking allowing hunters to hunt so close to school grounds? Glad to hear that Nathan will be ok. Sounds like his parents are doing everything they should be so that this does not happen again.

KathyL

Snapple · 01-09-2004, 08:45 PM

I am so glad to hear that your nephew is okay! but I am mortified by the school and the shariff's behavior! It is unthinkable! I hope the media gives them what they deserve!

Sending prayers and pixie dust to your family!