Hunter Dies After Accidentally Shooting Himself in Flagstaff Twp

A hunter in western Maine died from his injuries after accidentally shooting himself in the leg.

The Maine Warden Service reports that 57-year-old Mark Henderson of Eustis notified the Franklin County Sheriffs' office just before 6:00 Tuesday evening, that he had unintentionally shot himself in the lower leg while bird hunting. He told authorities he was on a remote logging road near the northwest shore of Flagstaff Lake in Flagstaff Township.

Wardens were joined by State Troopers, U.S. Border Patrol Agents, and members of Northstar Ambulance in their search of the area logging roads. Henderson was located just over an hour later, at 7:06 p.m., near his truck. Warden Kyle Hladik immediately began administering CPR to Henderson, who was loaded into the truck and driven to an ambulance at the Big Eddy Road. CPR was administered during the journey and emergency personnel tended to him before he died about 40 minutes later from his injuries.

Nearly 215,000 Mainers currently hold hunting licenses in Maine and Wardens say the state averages about 6 hunting incidents per year and, over the past ten year period, only 3 have been fatal. This is the first fatal incident of the year. Hunters are reminded to always treat every firearm as if it's loaded, always keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction, and always be sure of your target and beyond. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife also encourages hunters to ask first before accessing private land.