The suspect being hunted for the murder of Ranger Anderson is still at large this morning inside Mount Rainier National Park. National Park Rangers, Local Sheriff deputies along with Washington State Police, National Forrest, and FBI SWAT have sealed off the area and continue the man hunt. Barnes is believed to be on foot in the woods armed with an “assault rifle” authorities have said trackers have tracked him into a stream area where he was attempting to make his way out of the snow covered area in attempts to throw the pursuers off. Additionally an aircraft with a heat seeking camera has been brought into the hunt to help scan the area and narrow the search. Obviously this is a difficult situation giving the rugged terrain they are working in as well as the suspect has some military / survival skills training and apparently no problems with shooting others. In addition to the murder of Ranger Anderson Barnes is being sought in another shooting where four people were shot in a house during a New Years Party.

Will continue to follow this story and hopefully authorities will bring this manhunt to a successful and safe end soon.

National Park Rangers Patrol some of the most remote parts of our country where backup can be a long ways off.

Ranger Margaret Anderson made the ultimate sacrifice earlier today while on patrol in Mount Rainier National Park when trying to stop a vehicle that had failed to yield to another ranger. Ranger Anderson had set up a roadblock to stop the vehicle when she was fatally shot. Early reports state that the shooter approached the roadblock and exited his vehicle with a gun shooting the ranger and then escaping into the woods. Additional rangers and deputies arriving on the scene were also fired upon with what is reported as a suspect with a “assault rifle”.

Ranger Anderson

The park has been closed and a manhunt is currently being conducted. Visitors in the park have been asked to leave because this is a very dangerous situation. Some news reports say that people attempting to leave the park have been fired upon as well and armored vehicles are being brought in to help evacuate the public.

The vehicle the suspect was driving belongs to Benjamin Colton Barnes

Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer says 24-year-old Benjamin Colton Barnes is believed to have military experience and possess skills to survive in the wild.

Seattle PI

Benjamin Colton Barnes The Person of Interest in the killing of National Park Ranger Anderson

A man who is a person of interest in the shooting death of a park ranger Sunday morning near Mt. Rainier is also a suspect in a shooting that left four wounded in Skyway earlier in the day, sources tell KOMO News.

Detectives are looking for Benjamin Colton Barnes, a 24-year-old believed to have military experience and survivalist skills, officials said.

Investigators have recovered Barnes’ car which was filled with weapons and body armor, along with survivalist gear, said Det. Ed Troyer with the Pierce County Sheriff’s

KOMO News

This is a tragic situation for sure and I’m sure as time goes on will know more about what exactly happened. Our thought and prayers certainly go out to the Anderson family that just lost mother and wife as well as her co workers and friends. Additionally we pray for a quick and safe resolution to this man hunt.

The multiple news stories with references to the change of law in 2010 that allows people to carry firearms in National Parks I will not address at this time. I don’t see it as relevant to this story especially if it turns out prior felonies were committed prior to this tragic encounter.

Tonight my prayers are with two little girls who’ll never have their Mom tuck them into bed, tell them a story, or bake their favorite cookies.

Update on Death of a Louisiana Warden his death in the line of duty was initially thought to be murder has been reclassified as an accidental self inflicted shooting.

State Police detectives have concluded that the Sept. 30 death of a Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agent was an accident, a State Police spokesman said Friday.

The body of Sgt. Paul Stuckey was found on River Road in St. Francisville between the Mississippi River and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mat-casting plant.

Lt. Doug Cain said detectives reported their findings earlier this week to Stuckey’s family and the command staff of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Stuckey was investigating an active complaint of night hunting in the area, Cain said.

“It was obvious that he was setting up surveillance and had an accidental discharge of his shotgun,” Cain said.

The Advocate

Sad news and a reminder that the job of keeping us safe and protecting our natural resources can be a very dangerous job. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sgt Stuckey’s family and friends as they deal with this tragic loss.

The "Old Farts" Larry, Harold, and Rick

I’ve had the opportunity on a number of occasions to join the so called “Old Farts” on their outdoor adventures even though I slightly a bit younger then them. So it was a bit shocking to hear the news that Harold fell from a tree stand today. Not sure of all the details but he fell about 20 feet breaking his pelvis in a couple of places. While this is a serious injury it could of been far worse.

Our thoughts and prayers are with him as he gets ready for surgery and then heals up.

Everyone be careful out there and be safe.

Louisiana Wildlife Officer Sergent Paul Stuckey was killed in the line of duty earlier today while investigating a reported case of jack lighting.

The body of Sgt. Paul Stuckey, 47, was found at about 7 a.m. next to his patrol truck on a gravel river road by fishermen just outside St. Francisville in West Feliciana Parish. At 2:15 a.m., he reported to his supervisor that he was heading out to investigate a tip about illegal nighttime hunting, according to wildlife officials.

State police investigators, the lead detectives, said they had no suspects as of Friday.

Lt. Doug Cain, a state police spokesman, said there were signs that Stuckey was in the midst of surveillance when he was killed. Cain said Stuckey had binoculars on his truck’s dashboard, had made it so the lights inside his truck could not be seen and had filled out his patrol log.

“There are definite indications that he was on an investigation,” Cain said.

But he said investigators had a lot more work to do such as ballistics tests and DNA analysis. He said there were no obvious clues gathered from the scene.

“There are certainly a lot of unanswered questions,” he said.

West Feliciana Sheriff Austin Daniel said the coroner indicated that Stuckey probably was shot and killed sometime after 2:15 a.m., perhaps around daybreak.

“It didn’t look like a scuffle had taken place,” Daniel said. He said it appeared Stuckey had been struck by a shot from close range.

Killing someone over a deer is ridiculously stupid especially when a law officer is gunned down. I hope the scumbag that is responsible for this senseless crime is brought to justice soon.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Sgt Stuckey’s family, friends and co workers as they struggle with this horrible senseless crime.

I don’t know if they have the death penalty in Louisiana but cases like this just beg to have a fast track to the death chamber.

Two bear attacks are in today’s news including one here in North Carolina.

A Candler man and his dog are recovering after being attacked by a bear early this morning. The man was walking his dog near his home off Beaverdam Road while it was still dark, and accidentally walked up on a mother bear and her cub. The mother bear attacked the dog and man started hitting the bear with a stick.

WLOS ABC 13

It would appear that the black bear had attacked the dog and the owner stepped in to save the dogs life. While picking a fight with a bear is almost never a good idea messing with someone’s dog is often a more egregious offense.

The second bear attack was a fatal attack last week inside of Yellowstone National Park. This attack is believed to be carried out by a grizzly and not a black bear but both bears are found inside of Yellowstone.

A grizzly bear killed a Michigan man whose body was found by hikers last week in Yellowstone National Park, officials said Monday.

The victim was identified Monday as John Wallace of Chassell, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula.

Wallace’s body was discovered along a trail about five miles from the nearest trailhead. Results of an autopsy concluded that he died as a result of traumatic injuries from a bear attack.

Mlive
This is the second fatal attack inside the park this summer. Back in July a hiker surprised a grizzly sow with cubs and she attacked to protect her cubs.

Bears for the most part try to steer clear of humans however in places like National Parks where encounters with humans are frequent bears can loose that desire to avoid humans. The question often comes up what should you do if attacked by a bear? Play dead…. fight back? In the first example the man fought the black bear in the second scenario at this point we don’t know.

Massachusetts Wildlife has some suggestions on what to do if attacked by a bear that seems to be consistent with what I’ve read other places.

The standard response to serious bear attacks is to “play dead with grizzlies and fight back with black bears”. More specifically, it is probably appropriate to play dead if the attack is defensive (e.g., defense of cubs) and fight back if the attack is predatory. Context, circumstances, bear behavior, and geographical locale are indicators which may indicate the nature of the attack. Risk of bear attack can be diminished by individual responsibility and the communication and utilization of knowledge about bear behavior and natural history.

Predatory black bears seldom give explicit signs of aggression and intent. The bear typically approaches during the daytime, sometimes slowly circling the person, and then rushing in for the attack. Predatory attacks usually continue until the bear is deterred, the person escapes, or the bear gains its prey. If the bear is not deterred by noise or throwing of objects and escape is impossible, your only option may be to fight back with any available means. Adults as well as young children have successfully fought back and deterred potentially lethal bear attacks.

While bear attacks are rare people in bear country need to be mindful and on alert for bear encounters. As far as attacking a bear that has taken one of your pets I wouldn’t recommend it.

Hatteras Island NC Credit: AP Photo/Steve Helber

Hurricane Irene has come and gone from the state of North Carolina leaving significant amounts of damage in the eastern part of the state. Here around the house we fared pretty well with only tropical strength wind and raining hitting us. Lost the power for a little bit and had some tree limbs and leaves to clean up today so we feel very blessed.

Some of my friends off to the eastern part of the state and right in the path of hurricane Irene have had a more difficult weekend. Parts of Hatteras Island have been cut off because the ocean washed through cutting new inlets and washing huge chunks of highway 12 away. For some it could be days before they can get back out there to see how their homes did because the state will have to get emergency ferries set up to establish transportation between the island and the mainland.

I’ve got another friend that had a tree go through the roof of his home luckily none of them were hurt. Another friend had to spend the day with his neighbors cutting 183 trees that covered the only road that connected them with the world so to speak.

Everyone I’ve talked to is grateful that they made it through the storm with really only property damage and some inconveniences like no electricity. It will be days if not weeks for a lot of them to get things back to some semblance of normal.

The storm may not of been as strong as the predictions last week had said it was going to be but it was powerful enough. Clean up begins now and we all keep our eyes towards the gulf to see if mother nature has anything else to throw at us. September will be here this week and historically September is a much busier hurricane month. So count your blessings and say a prayer for those that are in recovery mode.

Racoons often carry rabies

A family here in North Carolina is learning a hard lesson about interactions with cute wildlife after they were exposed to rabies after playing with an over friendly raccoon.

Cumberland County Animal Control officers said two raccoon picked up Tuesday have tested positive for rabies.

Before they knew the animal was dangerous, the Koonce family treated one of the raccoons like a pet at their home

“It acted like somebody’s pet. It would follow you, would play with you,” Bill Koonce said.

The family even made a bed for the animal in the garage.

The lack of fear the raccoon showed humans worried Stacey Koonce, so she contacted animal control to pick it up. She said there were a string of calls made before animal control picked up the raccoon the next morning.

The animal never attacked the family, but each must undergo shots in case they were infected.

WRAL

I’m amazed at times how people just forget about the “wild” in wild animals. I’ve seen people try to pet deer, elk, and buffalo inside a number of national parks or even worse send a small child over to stand next to a critter for a photo op. Maybe Disney has warped the thinking of these people or something. Wild animals are not pets and should not be thought of as such. While the treatment for rabies is not as bad as it use to be I still wouldn’t want to have to go through it.

With Hurricane Irene bearing down on us government officials and weather folks have been urging us to get ready for this storm. In the middle of all of this a 5.8 Earthquake hit causing a brief scare but relatively little damage. I was at the Chiropractor on the wave bed when it hit so I didn’t feel it but many people around the area did. The east coast is a relatively active earth quake zone even though its unusual for us to feel them like we did today.

The earthquake was a brief interruption in our preparation time for Irene this weekend. I don’t know but it seems to me hunters and outdoorsman seem better equipped to deal with these types of situations. We keep most of the stuff they tell us to put in a emergency kit on hand because its stuff we carry when we head out on a hunt or a camping trip. If you don’t have what you need on hand trust me now is the time to gather it. After the storm hits water, gas, charcoal, batteries, ice, tools, tarps, trash bags, non perishable food, etc… becomes extremely expensive or unavailable.

I gathered most of my stuff together this evening hitting the store to get water and batteries. Having to rethink a few things giving I’m living in a new house on my own well should we lose electricity we’ll have no water unlike our last house that was on a community well that had emergency power backup. We’ve got a plan on how to deal with that but hopefully we won’t need it anytime soon.

As I write this it appears even less likely will take a direct hit possible a glancing blow or a total miss. Anyone along the east coast especially those north of me now is the time to get ready, Hopefully Irene gets shoved out to sea but if not you better batten down the hatches.

As far as the time I spent getting things together tonight, its not wasted time but just a jump start on my next hunting trip.