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A Syracuse man died Sunday morning after he was accidentally shot with an arrow while hunting.
Frederick C. Searfoss, 28, of EMS D25 Lane, was pronounced dead at the scene. Emergency personnel were called to the wooded location on North CR 500E, North Webster, at 6:37 a.m.
According to the Kosciusko County Coroner's Office and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Searfoss and his father, Jerry Searfoss, along with Daryle Gans, were deer hunting when the accident occurred.
Officials said that Jerry Searfoss was dropped off on one side of the woods, while Frederick Searfoss and Gans drove around and entered the wooded area from the opposite side.
Jerry Searfoss was already in his deer stand when he heard what he thought was a deer walking. He reportedly looked and thought he saw a buck, so he took the shot. Frederick Searfoss then called out that he had been shot, so Jerry Searfoss got down from his stand and went to his aid.
While one of the men attempted to stop the bleeding, the other went to call for help. DNR officials said the ambulance arrived quickly, but the arrow apparently severed Frederick Searfoss' femoral artery and he bled to death. The arrow entered Searfoss' right buttock and exited diagonally from his inner thigh.
Investigators said all three men were wearing camouflage clothing and hunters are not required to wear blaze orange during bow-and-arrow season.
The incident remains under investigation by the DNR and the Kosciusko County coroner. Assisting at the scene were personnel from the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and North Webster/Tippecanoe Township Emergency Medical Service.
