Man, 36, dies after shooting self with bow
Friday, September 12, 2003
By JAN H. KENNEDY Repository staff writer
LAKE TWP. " Jim Bender was looking for the big elk buck of his dreams when he accidentally shot himself with his bow. The arrow cut a large artery in his leg, and he bled to death.
His body was found Sunday by scent-trained dogs, said Melody Skinner, sheriff"s dispatcher in San Juan County, Colo.
Bender, 36, of Lake Township went to San Juan County with his Akron friends Forest Simmons and Gene Foster. The bowhunters were looking for trophy elk, a longtime dream of Bender"s.
His friends reported Bender missing Sept. 4, but said he was prepared to camp overnight if he was on the trail of a large bull elk. By afternoon of the next day, rescuers, including many volunteers and a helicopter, began searching for Bender, but had no success, Skinner said.
"On Monday, the temperatures rose, a little wind came up and the humidity was high, which is favorable for carrying scent," she said. "They decided to bring in the air-scent dogs, and one of the dogs went to him during a wind shift when they were walking the area."
Bender had shot himself in his right leg, Skinner said. The arrow pierced his femoral artery. He pulled the arrow out, further cutting the artery, Skinner said. She believes he died within minutes.
Cindi Bender said her husband loved the outdoors and his family.
"It"s a tragic accident," she said. "As horrible as it is, he died doing something that he loved."
Jim and Cindi Bender had four children, Brock, Cole, Whitney and Taylor. Bender also is survived by his parents, James and Charlotte Bender of North Canton; sisters and brothers-in-law Karen and Ken Walters of Massillon and Dee and Tom Feller of North Canton; brothers and sisters-in-law Kevin and Tara Bender and Terry and Kim Bender, all of North Canton, and Nick and Mel Nichols of Dennison; and many nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles.
The funeral service is Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in Jackson Friends Church.
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This guy only lives minutes from where I used to live. I don' t know him but feel bad for his family.
Every year tragic things happen,we all need to remember that we ourselves can stop accidents from happening.I feel for his family,I to have 4 children and a family that depends on me to come home safe after every outing.I would hate to disapoint them.
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"When the moment of truth comes,and it's time to dance.You better get jiggy with it or find a new partner."
That is tragic, but how would one shoot himself in the upper thigh with a bow? It ain' t like the thing can go off accidentally. Only thing I could think was he fell out a treestand or something like that
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Life begins where the pavement ends!
I can only imagine the thoughts that were going thru his mind. I' m sure that most people' s first instinct would be to remove the arrow. My thought was that maybe he was sneaking on a bull and had an arrow notched and slipped and fell. I too don' t see how you could shoot yourself at that angle. Some accidents we just don' t see coming and this one sounds like bad luck while hunting. I feel for the family as no child should be without their dad...
Be careful out there
