Eustis man killed in apparent hunting accident

FLAGSTAFF TOWNSHIP – A Eustis man was killed Tuesday evening after he unintentionally shot himself in the leg while bird hunting on a remote logging road. It is the first hunting incident of the year, according to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

MDIFW spokesperson Matt Latti said in a statement released Wednesday that the Franklin County Regional Communications Center took a call from Mark Henderson, 57 of Eustis, at 5:56 p.m. Tuesday evening. Henderson told dispatchers that he had unintentionally shot himself in the lower left leg while bird hunting on a remote logging road near the northwest shore of Flagstaff Lake in Flagstaff Township.

Game wardens, Maine State Police, U.S. Border Patrol and NorthStar EMS all responded to the area and began searching logging roads for Henderson.

At 7:06 p.m., Warden Kyle Hladik located Henderson near his truck. The warden began administering CPR to Henderson and loaded him into his truck. A state trooper drove the warden’s truck to meet an ambulance at the Big Eddy Road as Hladik and another trooper continued CPR. Emergency medical personnel administered care to Henderson for approximately 40 minutes before he died due to his injuries, Latti said.

Wardens are investigating the incident.

Latti said that Tuesday’s fatal shooting was the first hunting incident of the year; currently, open seasons including hunting for bear, deer, upland birds, waterfowl, turkeys and other species. The second week of moose season will begin next week.

There are nearly 215,000 licensed hunters in Maine, Latti noted. Over the last 10 years, Maine has averaged six hunting incidents per year, with three fatal incidents over that 10-year period.