October 20, 2018
From FDLReporter.com
FOND DU LAC – Students and staff at St. Mary’s Springs Academy in Fond du Lac are mourning the loss of a student who died as a result of a duck hunting accident Friday in Calumet County.
Trent Schueffner, a junior, and the son of Jon and Kerrie Schueffner of St. Cloud, was a member of the varsity football team as a defensive lineman and offensive tackle.
Wisconsin Department of Recreational Safety Warden Darren Kuhn said Saturday that two juveniles and a 19-year-old were in small boats on the south branch of the Manitowoc River, shooting at ducks coming in, when one of the juveniles accidentally shot the other juvenile.
The DNR is not releasing names, Kuhn said, because the two person involved are juveniles, but SMSA issued a press release Friday that stated at the request of both the family of Trent Schueffner and the St. Mary’s Springs football team, the game would be played that evening against Milwaukee’s Dominican High School.
The Spring’s Ledgers rallied with a 62-13, win. Trent Schueffner was No. 62 on the team.
“We’d like to express our condolences to the families of all people involved in the community,” Kuhn said. “When someone loses their lives in a hunting accident it is terrible, but when it involves a young person, it is even more tragic.”
The SMSA campus and chapel was opened Friday for students and families, and faculty and counseling support was offered.
SMSA president Kelly Norton issued the following statement:
“It is with a heavy heart and great sadness to learn of the passing of junior Trent Schueffner during a tragic hunting accident earlier today in Calumet County. St. Mary’s Springs Academy wishes to send our prayers and deepest sympathies his family as well as our students, staff and Ledger community as we mourn his loss and pray for his eternal rest.”
Information regarding additional counseling and support services for students will be made available through the school system’s Skyward program to high school students and families throughout the weekend.