On 12/24/13 at 0742 hrs the victim called 911 and stated that he had been duck hunting on Milford lake when he went to retrieve an injured duck.  He climbed into a homemade craft that he had brought with him, and used his shotgun as a paddle to try and get the duck.  The wind picked up and blew him into the cove up against the ice shelf.  The homemade craft did not have a motor and there was no way he could get back to shore.  The craft started taking on some water so he climbed onto the ice shelf in the middle of the cove.

Emergency personnel arrived and located the victim who was still holding his shotgun.  He was out on the ice but due to the distance that he was from the shore they were not able to get to him.  The victim fell through the ice and did not return to the surface.  LifeStar Helicopter went up and was able to get the GPS coordinates of the spot where the victim went through the ice.  The Emergency Personnel on scene declared that it was now a recovery operation.

On 12/28/13 and 12/30/13 attempts were made to recover the victim but they were unsuccessful.  There was ice covering the water and the temperature was below freezing.  On 12/31/13 the recovery operation was able to retrieve the shotgun that the victim was using.  On 01/01/14 the KDWPT recovery team was able to recover the victim and bring him to shore.  He was not wearing a PFD.  The victim was released to the County Coroner and then to the local funeral home.

An autopsy was conducted on 01/03/14 and it was determined that the cause of death was Drowning.
Junction City