Highland County OhArchives Obituaries.....Burkard, Gary Lee October 29, 1969 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/oh/ohfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: JOAN ASCHE jasche45133@gmail.com August 21, 2006, 4:07 pm Hillsboro Press Gazette October 28, 1969 A Highland County man was fatally wounded in a hunting accident in northern Adams County last Saturday. He was struck by deer slug from the gun of a hunting companion and died instantly. Dr. Gary Greenlee, Manchester, Adams County coroner, ruled the shooting as accidental. Killed was Gary Lee Burkard, Hillsboro Rt. 5. His hunting companion who mistook him for a deer in thick woods was {name removed} Gragg, 14, Seaman Rt. 2. They had been hunting companions for a long time. The accident occurred near the Tranquility Wildlife Preserve and time of the mishap was placed as shortly after 6 P. M. Saturday. The pair had been hunting with some other young men but they had gone off in search of grouse while Burkard and Gragg continued pursuit of deer. They were certain that deer were in the area and decided to separate at a spot just east of the Tranquility preserve, Gragg swinging down the lower side of a hill. Burkhard continued along a ridge. Sheriff Eugene Hodge and Deputy Harold Wilson, who investigated, said Gragg jumped some dear and shot at them. Dusk was closing in. The young boy thought the deer had turned and started up the hill. He heard leaves rustling and other sounds. This was apparently Burkard stiffening into firing position. Gragg told officers he saw a flash of white and fired into the woods. The slug hit Burkard in the face below the right eye, hit the cheekbone and then followed down his spine into the chest cavity. The pair was about 75 yards apart. Deputy Wilson, following a recheck of the scene Sunday, said the ironic touch was that the shooting occurred in extremely thick woods and how the shot missed a “tree, twig or limb, we’ll never know.” He added, “A slight deflection would have saved the boy’s life.” The youth, after the accident, made his way to the nearby Liming Road and met some of his other gunning companions and the sheriff was notified. It took searching parties nearly five hours to locate the body. It was found about 10:45 P. M., Sheriff Hodge said. Burkard was pronounced dead at the scene. The Gragg boy had trouble retracing his steps to the area in the dark. The boy’s father, {name removed} Gragg, Seaman Rt. 2, works for B & B. Plating in Hillsboro, operated by the Burkard family, and this is how the pair became acquainted. The Gragg boy was carrying a J. C. Higgins, six-shot, 12-gauge, bolt-action shotgun. Burkard was packing a Winchester Model 88 rifle. Burkard is survived by his wife, Bonnie, Hillsboro, Rt. 5; his mother, Mrs. John Burkard; five brothers, Robert, Washington C. H. Richard, Dayton, Karl, David and Neal, all of Hillsboro. Services will be held Tuesday at the Hope Miller Funeral Home, with Rev. Robert Gallagher officiating and burial following in New Market Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home form 1 to 9 P. M. Monday. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/oh/highland/obits/burkard532nob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ohfiles/ File size: 3.5 Kb