Hunter shot man found by rescuers

It hasn’t been determined what type of firearm was used to shoot the hunter.

By TIM YOVICH

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WEST FARMINGTON — A Trumbull County man who was rescued from a wildlife preserve Friday had been shot by a hunter, an investigator says.

Darrell Bontrager, 42, of Farmington Township, was found about 10:30 a.m. Friday in the Grand River Wildlife Management Area after spending the night in the woods.

Authorities had been saying that Bontrager accidentally shot himself before the search was launched Thursday night.

Sheriff’s Detective Michael E. Yannucci said Bontrager told him during an interview at St. Joseph Heath Center that a hunter shot him in the left leg.

Yannucci said Bontrager was in the thickly wooded area when he felt pain.

“He looked up and saw a man running,” the detective said Bontrager told him. “Darrell strongly believes it’s an accident.”

Yannucci said Bontrager was not carrying a weapon and it hasn’t been determined what type of firearm was used to shoot him.

Yannucci said Bontrager was alert at St. Joseph’s.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife said only squirrel can be hunted currently in the area. The only other animal that can be hunted is deer, but only with a bow and arrow.

What happened

Bontrager was found nearly three miles from where he entered the 6,000-acre preserve.

His truck was found just outside the northwest section of the wildlife area at Peck Leach and Brigden roads. He was located in the northeast section off Norton Lane.

Bontrager’s brother, Lincoln Bontrager, said his brother told him that he was going into the preserve to set up a tree stand to eventually hunt deer.

Lincoln Bontrager said that after his brother was wounded, Darrell Bontrager, an avid hunter, called another brother, Kevin Bontrager, on his cell phone. Kevin notified 911 about 8 p.m.

As the night went on, Darrell Bontrager’s cell phone batteries weakened. The search was called off at dark.

Don Waldron, coordinator of the Trumbull County Emergency Planning Agency, said Bontrager’s cell phone began working Friday morning when the search resumed.

Waldron said that Bontrager, a former military policeman, could hear a medical helicopter being used in the Friday morning search.

Using the global positioning system, or GPS, the pilot was able to direct ground teams to Bontrager. Between 25 and 30 volunteer firefighters were involved in the search.

“This is a very good ending,” Waldron said after Bontrager was found alive.

yovich@vindy.com