An
on-going investigation being led by the Ohio Division of Wildlife is
looking into the death of a 41-year-old Ashtabula County man who was
shot in an apparent hunting-related incident.
On
Sunday, November 25th – the day before the start of Ohio’s
seven-day firearm deer-hunting season - Jared Micah Windler was
struck by a shot allegedly fired when an unnamed friend was said to
be hoisting via a rope a muzzleloading rifle into a tree stand,
located about 15 to 20 feet from the ground at around 6 a.m. This,
according to Ashtabula County Corner investigator Tom Despenes.
Allegedly,
Windler, resident of Saybrook Township, was standing at the bottom
of the tree when the hunting implement discharged as it was being
pulled through branches, striking him on the left side of the
forehead, killing the man instantly, Despenses said.
“We
do not know who tied the gun to the rope,” Despenses said.
Windler
was pronounced dead at 6:58 a.m. The incident occurred near North
Bend Road and State Route 45, south of Interstate 90 in Saybrook
Township.
P
resently,
the matter is being investigated by a team of several experienced law
enforcement officers with the Wildlife Division – an effort on
their part that can take months.
Or
in the case of the hunting-related fatality that occurred November
27th, 2017, it took until this past May before Darrell
A. Shepard was indicted by
the Ashtabula County Grand Jury in
the accidental
shooting
death of Randy Gozzard, in nearby
Monroe
Township.
Shepard
was due to be sentenced in Ashtabula County Court of Common Please on
December 3rd but that date has been changed to January 10th.
“We
can speculate as to what happened, but all we can really say (now) is
that there was another person at the scene,”said
also
Jerod
Roof, supervisor for the Wildlife Division’s District Three
(Northeast Ohio) Office in Akron.
Roof
says such cases are highly involved and require meticulous attention
to detail with at least five agency officers now working on the case;
with additional review and input from other Wildlife Division experts
almost certain.
That,
plus support coming from other state as well as Ashtabula County
officials such as the coroner's office and the prosecutors office.
It’s
hardly the same as depicted on television crime shows where evidence
is processed and a possible crime is solved in a matter of hours or a
few days.
“We
work closely with others, and this case
could
take a year or more,” said
Roof.
“The lab results alone could
take six
weeks,”
Despenes
said the Cuyahoga County corner is contracted to perform autopsies
for Ashtabula County, and a report from that agency could take up to
four months. Once Ashtabula County receives the information it will
be forwarded to the Division of Wildlife, Despenes said.
Roof
said also that once the Wildlife Division has completed its work the
agency will then turn the file over to the Ashtabula
County Prosecutor
who will
make a final determination on whether to bring charges, if
any, and of what kind.
“We
are typically consulted by the prosecutor on matters we work on,”
Roof said.
As
for Windler, he leaves behind a wife, two daughters, three stepsons,
his parents, and a sister.
Windler’s
online obituary also says he was an avid hunter, angler and devoted
Cleveland sports and NASCAR fan.
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net
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