UPDATE: Bow hunter dies in fall from tree stand in Southern Illinois
November 18, 2010
ENFIELD, Ill. – A Carmi hunter died Wednesday at Dolan Lake State Park after
his climbing stand failed, causing him to fall.
The man was identified by police as Conrad Mills, 60. The accident scene is
a few miles southwest of Enfield, Ill. in Hamilton County.
Firefighters from Enfield, McLeansboro Springerton and Mill Shoals were
alerted around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday of a missing hunter at Dolan Lake and
launched a rescue mission. After a nearly three hour search, they found
Mills at the base of the tree he had been hunting from.
Preliminary results indicate the climbing stand apparently failed, causing
Mills to fall. He was secured by a safety harness, which either failed or
was cut, rescuers said, causing the victim to fall the rest of the way to
the ground.
The incident is under investigation by Hamilton Co. authorities as well as
the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Hamilton County
Coroner’s Office.