Hunting Accident in Sibley County

[Augusta]

Just heard on the news that there was a turkey hunting accident in Sibley County near Belle Plaine. Anyone hear anything? Sure hope we have a happy ending.

[Christopher Quast]

Yes actually my wife is a 911 dispatcher and she took the initial call and said she could hear the dad giving his young son cpr and saying that he was turning blue and not breathing apparently he was shot in the chest I am not a turkey hunter but even if can you imagine going home and having to tell your wife what just happened SAD SAD Deal I dont know who to contact but I feel everyone on this site should start a fund raiser for this family let me know what you think

[bassphish2005]

Oh boy,tragic news for sure,and my turkey season starts next Saturday,I know this will be in the back of my mind now@

[Dave S]

This is terrible. This is the first I heard of it.

[Tippman]

Very sad indeed. Thoughts and prayers with that family.

[hugonian1]

Oh my.

Lifting this family up in prayer.

[updecreek]

I no this is a sad deal but thats why i bow hunt. take your time at the hunt. just think he was hunting turkeys? Whats a turkey worth to you? just like the 15 point buck how much is that trophy worth? now think how much is your life worth?priceless.....

Enjoy nature for all its worth.

Prayers to the family.

[Augusta]

This is just terrible, so very sad. This year will be my daughters first year turkey hunting. Now I'm not so sure I want to take her. I will be thinking of that father and son the whole time...

[updecreek]

RIP

my prayers.

[Big Dave2]

I live in Belle Plaine and the first I heard of this was in the Minneapolis strib this morning. I am waiting to find out who this is as they are not releasing any names yet, but I am not looking forward to it.

I have a son who is 1 year younger than this child and I know many people here so I am afraid that I will know them. It may be selfish of me, but I am hoping it is not someone I know.

[Borch]

Very sad indeed. I haven't heard any details regarding the accident. My prayers go out to this family.

Be sure to always verify your target and know what's beyond it. Always maintain muzzle control while handling your firearm.

Be safe everyone.

[BigGrassBass]

I don't think you're selfish Big Dave. It's easier when you don't know the people. It's a sad deal either way. My thoughts go out to the family.

[BigGrassBass]

I copied and pasted the article from the Strib below for those of you who have not seen it.

A 9-year-old boy was shot and killed by his father late Saturday afternoon in a Sibley County hunting accident 3 miles northwest of Belle Plaine.

The boy and his father were turkey hunting near County Road 6 in Faxon Township, about 3 miles from Hwy. 25, said Sibley County Sheriff Bruce Ponath. The father called for help from his cell phone, and the Belle Plaine fire department and ambulance service responded along with the Sibley County sheriff's office, Ponath said. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ponath declined to release the names of the boy or his father or give further details about the accident Saturday night but said the two were the only members of the hunting party.

[elevatorguy]

A very horrible, sad sad deal. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

And just a reminder to all of us that hunt to be very cautious and always know your target and if you are not sure DON'T SHOOT!!!

[kilkercal615]

 Originally Posted By: BigGrassBass

I copied and pasted the article from the Strib below for those of you who have not seen it.

A 9-year-old boy was shot and killed by his father late Saturday afternoon in a Sibley County hunting accident 3 miles northwest of Belle Plaine.

The boy and his father were turkey hunting near County Road 6 in Faxon Township, about 3 miles from Hwy. 25, said Sibley County Sheriff Bruce Ponath. The father called for help from his cell phone, and the Belle Plaine fire department and ambulance service responded along with the Sibley County sheriff's office, Ponath said. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ponath declined to release the names of the boy or his father or give further details about the accident Saturday night but said the two were the only members of the hunting party.

Man reading that just gives you the chills. Prayers out to the familiy and the dad for sure. His life is dramaticly changed. Can't imagine the pain he is going through.

[LABS4ME]

WOW! I can't imagine the pain that he is feeling right now either! And to have to go home to your wife and look into her eyes knowing what happened... To know you've taken your sons life in pursuit of a game animal... leaves me speechless!

Not that it makes it any better, but I hope it wasn't him shooting at his son thinking it was a turkey... I hope the gun fell off a log or some other accident totally removed from him thinking that his boy was a 'turkey'. The grief would still be insurmountable, but I would eventually begin to accept a freak accident as opposed to me pulling the trigger mistaking a human for game.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this Minnesota's 1st turkey hunting death? I know it has always been deemed one of the safer hunts in this state.

As Borch said... make 100% sure of your target (and beyond). There is no turkey (or any game) in the world worth risking an accidental shooting...

Good Luck!

Ken

[Dave S]

This scares me to no end that it may be someone that I know. I have a friend in Belle Plaine that hunts this area and also has a son about this age.

[MNice]

In the Star trib they said father mistook the son for a turkey. Very sad and completely inexcusable. My prayers go out to the family as this will take years to heal,

[Powerstroke]

In a press conference earlier today, Sheriff Bruce Ponath identified the two involved as Anthony Klaseus and his son Hunter Klaseus of Belle Plaine.

According to Sheriff Ponath, Hunter was unarmed and was told not to move while Klaseus hunted for turkeys. Hunter strayed from where he was situated. "His son did not stay at that spot and he came up upon his dad and his dad mistook him for a turkey," said Sheriff Ponath.

The father fired once from around 20 to 30 yards away.

Thats from todays news.

I was on a youth turkey hunt this weekend and it came up right away this morning. I realize that this is a horrible tragedy, but we should all learn from it. This is exactly whats wrong with firearms safety.

The reason turkey hunting is generally safe despite full camoflage is because you need to identify a bearded bird at a range of less than 50yds!!

Why was your 9yd old son left alone in the woods and why did you shoot something you couldn't identify?

I feel terrible for the father. I couldn't even imagine. I have 2 girls and my oldest is 7. She wants to come hunting.

It is horrible that it happened this way, but it should be a stark reminder to the rest of us during the turkey season. Let there be NO MORE firearms accidents this season.

[Dave S]

This varies slightly from the story that I read earlier which stated the boy was told to stay put in the truck while his father put a stalk on the birds.

I will leave it at that as I don't want the information provided here or in the media outlets to stray into something that is false.

From here on out, we should maybe allow the authorities to complete their investigation and release final details before this leads into too much speculation.

The best we can do here is to offer our best wishes and support for the family. Hopefully there will be a benefit established.

[Scott M]

Wow, what a sad story. Get home today from fishing to hear this...I expected to read about some successful turkey hunts from the weekend. How tragic. I hope people can learn from this and that the father will be able to emotionally find some recovery. My thoughts and prayers are with that family.

[riverrat56]

My prayers go out to the family, it really puts things into perspective when something like this happens.

I know that in the wake of things like this people begin second guessing there choices to take their kids out into the woods hunting with them. I just don't want to see some kids that get left at home over fear of an accident, the danger is always there, but this can be used as a learning tool, to really make a point of the danger of firearms. I was tagging along with dad on pheasant hunts since I was 8, and I know that with out getting involved at a young age, I wouldn't have the passion for the outdoors that I do now. Sorry for side tracking, I just feel very strongly about people taking their children out hunting.

[heat checker]

Plain and simple, the boy should have been following in the tracks of dad. Safest for the boy, and best whey for him to observe. That beeing said, I know how hard it is to think "safety" when the young ones are with, and no, they won't sit where they are told, cause dad is "sneaking", so they will too. My heart goes out to this dad, he was doing a great thing by taking his kid in the outdoors and it turned out to be a bad deal. Apparently, taking a bird became priority when the opportunity aroase, versus taking his son on a hunt. That is something I personally stuggle with every time I take my 5yr old with hunting, and constantly need to remind myself that its about them being there and the sight of wildlife is what matters to them, not the kill.

[goblueM]

I just don't understand how you can shoot your son at 20 yards... you obviously haven't taken the time to identify that A) its a turkey its a tom and C) taken the time to aim for the kill zone

That being said, a very tragic incident, I feel for their family

[birdswacker]

My son got his first tag this year and heard about this on the news now he doesn't know if he wants to go. He's scared someone will walk in on us and he'll get shot.

KNOW WHAT YOUR TARGET IS YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT SHOT BACK!!!!!!!!

Very sad story.