Falls from treestands,
usually by hunters not wearing a high quality safety harness is a
major cause
of serious hunting accidents and hunting fatalities. A large
portion of those deaths or serious falls occurred while ascending or
descending the tree. Often by hunters who normally where a harness
but either don't bother to wear the harness or do not wear it because
they don't know how to easily go up or down while safely attached to
the tree or some other safety device.
Causes of these sometimes deadly falls vary from loss of balance, to
treestand failure, improper use of treestands or related safety
devices and more.
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- Virginia - 1999, 3 hunters killed in treestand
accidents
- Mundy Township, Michigan - November 2002, Bill Goins,
32, killed in while ascending or descending his treestand.
- Ohio - 2002 at least two treestand related deaths.
- Florida - 2002 hunter killed while pulling loaded gun
up to treestand.
- North Carolina - October 2003, hunter killed in fall
from home made treestand. Later died from his injuries. Not
wearing harness.
- Indiana - Sonny Michael, 45, fell after a 13-foot-high
deer stand collapsed Nov 2003
- North Carolina - December 2003, victim fell from
homemade treestand no rails. Not wearing harness.
- Pennsylvania - Wayne Baum, 76, fell when trying to get
into treestand
- August 25, 2004
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Bladen County, North Carolina - October 2004, Matthew C.
Saunders, Sr., 50, fell from treestand, found at base of his tree
by hunting partner.
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Lawrence County, Mississippi - October 2004, Rudy Walker, 43,
of Monticello, died after falling 16 feet from a tree while
hunting. Walker was not wearing a harness.
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Jasper County, Mississippi - October 2004, Christopher
Spradley, 22, died of injuries from a fall 25 feet from a tree
while hunting. Spradley was not wearing a harness.
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Jackson County, Alabama - December 2004, Benjamin Lee Boyanton,
34 of Huntsville, was found at the foot of a tree.
- South Carolina - Gerald Holthaus, 62, shot himself in
the leg while trying to climb down from a deer stand and bled to
death
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Sundquist WMA, Tennessee -
November 21, 2005. Jeff Shultz, 44 fell
approximately 20 feet from his stand. Not wearing a Harness
- Seneca Creek State Park, Maryland - November 26 2005,
Andre Strickland, 53. Strickland was descending from a tree when
he fell and became entangled in his safety harness, police said.
Cause of death as accidental hanging.
- Pike County township, Pennsylvania - December 1, 2005.
Amier Perez, 63, was found next to his tree stand on state
gamelands between Shohola Falls and Well Road.
- Alleghany County , North Carolina - December 2005.
Robert Lee Caudill, 47, was killed when he lowered his gun from
his treestand and it discharged and shot him in the leg.
- Delta National Forest Mississippi - December 10, 2005
John G. Sheridan, 21 fell 15 feet from his treestand and struck
his head on the base of a tree. Not wearing a
Harness
- Volusia County, Florida - Charles Maclean III died when
he fell about 20 feet from his tree stand.
- Patoka Lake Reservoir, Indiana - Brian D. Beckman, 46,
found hanging upside down with foot wedged in treestand.
- Presque Isle County, Michigan - Douglas Mitchell
Krawczak, 25, was found dead Wednesday at the base of a tree Nov.
2006
- Kent County, Michigan - Warren Lee Snoeyink, 41, was
killed when he fell about 25 feet from a tree. He was not wearing
a harness.
- Monroe Township, Ohio - Albert Klotz, 67, fell from a
tree stand and died.
- Woodruff, Wisconsin - Kenneth Kloes, 44, died of head
injuries when he fell about 25 feet from a tree stand. Nov 2005
- Rock County, Wisconsin - Man, 35, hunting from a tree
stand in when the stand, which was in poor condition, began
to tilt. The man's shotgun went off and struck him in the upper
right thigh, resulting in his death. 2004
- Madison County,
Iowa - Scott Ferris, 41, likely suffocated when his
treestand fell from beneath him, and he was left hanging with a
chest type strap harness.
- Lafayette County, Arkansas - Ray E. Ulmer, 44, died
after falling out of and hanging upside down for his treestand.
November 12, 2007
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Indiana - Allen Loftis, 48, of South Haven, died in a 20'
fall from his treestand.
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| Maryland has had 111 tree-stand
accidents reported to the state between 1990 and 1998, five were
fatal. |
