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Hunter killed by member of his party

Meghann M. Cuniff
Staff writer
November 20, 2008

A man shot and killed another hunter whom he mistook for an animal this week in Shoshone County.

James R. Hinchcliff, 57, of Deer Park, died in a forested area about 12 miles up Thompson Pass Road near the Montana border after a member of his three-person hunting party shot him in the chest about 3 p.m. Tuesday, said Rod Plank of the Shoshone County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office will likely send its investigation to the prosecutor to decide whether James L. Egan, 64, of Dalton Gardens, Idaho, should be charged. Hinchcliff "was wearing brown camouflage clothing from head to toe," Plank said.

Hinchcliff's death, the fifth hunting fatality in the county since 1992, "really could have been prevented simply by wearing some different clothing," Plank said.

Idaho doesn't require hunters to wear bright orange.

"I think events like this highlight the need for a change in people's thinking," Plank said.

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