Li'l Bear Hunter

http://www.kirotv.com/news/17075002/detail.html
Woman Fatally Shot By Bear Hunter

POSTED: 4:25 pm PDT August 2, 2008
UPDATED: 6:48 pm PDT August 3, 2008


SKAGIT COUNTY, Wash. -- A woman was fatally shot by a bear hunter on
Sauk Mountain, said Chief Deputy Will Reichardt of the Skagit County
Sheriff’s Office.

Family identified the victim as 54-year-old Pamela Almli. Almli was
hiking with a friend around 10:30 a.m. Saturday when a group of
hunters were also in the mountain.

DISCUSS: What Do You Think?

Investigators said one of the hunters, a 14-year-old boy from
Concrete, spotted what he thought was a bear and fired a round,
fatally wounding Almli.

Deputies said a preliminary investigation indicates that Almli was
stopped on the trail putting something into her backpack when the
hunter mistook her for a bear.

Family and friends of Almli said she loved the outdoors and spent a
lot of her free time hiking.

"We find comfort in the fact that she did died doing what she loved to
do (and) that it was quick. We know she wasn't in pain. We know she
didn't have any fear. That's comforting to us, but there is a hole in
the family," said Teresa Smith, Almli’s sister-in-law.

The victim's family said it has compassion for the young hunter and
his family, but at the same time it's having a hard time understanding
how this could have happened.

"It's a tragedy. He made a grave mistake that has affected many
lives," Smith said.

Almli was from the small town of Oso near Arlington and had become
great friends with many of her neighbors over the years. Some of them
are still trying to make sense of her death and the strange
circumstances surrounding it.

"You look into a scope you know what you are firing at -- and really
and truly that's all I got to say," said Almli’s neighbor, Freda
Slack.

The incident happened along Highway 20 west of Rockport. Reichardt
said it’s legal to hunt bear in that area and it’s also a popular
hiking area. It's unclear how the mountain is marked in terms of
hunting season signs and hiking trails.

The hunter was accompanied by at least one other person, police said.

Police said no one is currently in custody, and they continue to
interview the hunter.

The following information is from the Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife Hunter Education:

Washington State law requires all individuals born after Jan. 1, 1972,
to show proof of basic hunter education training before purchasing a
hunting license, said the Washington State Department of Fish and
Wildlife.

Classes are offered year-round and there is no minimum age required to
enroll in hunter education, but instructors may require a parent or
guardian to attend all classes if students are under 12 years of age.

Non-resident hunters must also provide evidence that they have
completed hunter education training before purchasing a hunting
license.

In 2007, the Washington State Legislature approved a measure that
allows a one-year, once-in-a-lifetime deferral of hunter education
training. The deferral option is available to individuals who are
accompanied by an experienced hunter who has held a Washington hunting
license for the previous three years.
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