2 killed at Reelfoot Lake

Sad ducks are so important to some people.

A good read from Field & Stream about the shooting.

www.fieldandstream.com/story/hunting/alleged-double-murder-reelfoot-lake-points-to-duck-hunter-problem/

Been crappie fishing there before. Snakes everywhere.

Lots of things dont make sense. 2 guys shot out of 3. 3rd guy takes gun away from old man and lets him walk away.
Arrest warrants for murder charges have been filed against a Martin man sought in Monday’s deadly shooting at Reelfoot Lake.

The warrants issued Tuesday for the arrest of 70-year-old David Vowell are for two counts of first-degree murder.

The warrants have not yet been served, since Vowell has not been located.

Vowell is being sought in connection with a shooting which claimed the lives of 26-year-old Chance Black and 25-year-old Zack Grooms, both of the Greenfield area in Weakley County.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation — which is investigating the shooting along with the Obion County Sheriff’s Office — initially identified Vowell as “a person of interest” Monday night. The TBI announced the issuance of the arrest warrants in an update at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

While the shooting remains under investigation, District Attorney General Tommy Thomas explained the charges were placed to meet requirements necessary to have the suspect placed in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) in order for the U.S. Marshal Service to start searching for him.

“Basically, there had to be charges placed to widen the network of different agencies which can search for him,” Thomas told The Messenger this morning. “That’s the main reason charges were placed at this point.”

The shooting happened Monday on the north end of Reelfoot Lake near Walnut Log in rural Obion County, where law enforcement and emergency medical services responded at 11 a.m. to a report of two people having been shot.

The shooting occurred at a duck blind and, according to Thomas, a witness to the incident has been interviewed.

The witness, Jeff Crabtree, was at the duck blind with Black and Grooms when the shooting happened.

Vowell was alone when he approached the duck blind at the time of the incident, according to the DA, who said Vowell reportedly had come from another blind close by and asked if he could hunt with Crabtree and the two young men.

“And then, according to Crabtree, with no explanation, he shot them,” Thomas related.

In the aftermath, Crabtree took the gun away from Vowell and hit him with the butt of the firearm, knocking Vowell into the water, according to Thomas, referencing a statement the witness gave to a TBI agent.

Crabtree allegedly threw the gun into the water — described as waist deep — and took the two injured men by boat to the shore for medical help.

Thomas said as Crabtree boated away, he looked back and saw Vowell get up and appear to make his way toward the back of the blind.

“And that’s the last he saw of him,” the DA said, adding that it’s unknown where Vowell went after that.

Thomas said authorities are exploring a variety of angles in regard to where Vowell could have gone — among them whether he might have had help fleeing the area, or what could have happened to him in the miles of swampy wilderness around the lake in the aftermath.

Vowell’s truck was located Monday at a boat dock at Reelfoot Lake and was towed. His boat was found Tuesday morning a couple hundred yards away from the blind, and a gun was found in the boat.

A number of local law enforcement agencies and volunteers were at the lake Tuesday — both on the water and along the shoreline, as well as in the air — searching for any sign of Vowell. The DA said the lake has not been dragged at this point.

“They searched all over the place,” Thomas said. “They brought a bloodhound out there, a tracking dog, but with little success. Of course, it rained inches the night before.”

Thomas said the water is too high today to continue searching the water and more rain is forecast.

Anyone who has seen Vowell or has information on his whereabouts is asked to call 1-800-TBI-FIND (1-800-824-3463). The TBI said Monday night he should be considered armed and dangerous.

In addition, anyone who was on or near the north end of Reelfoot Lake Monday morning and heard or saw anything which might help police in their ongoing investigation is also asked to call the TBI’s toll-free number.

To Thomas’ knowledge, Vowell has no prior criminal history.

All of those involved in Monday’s tragedy have strong ties to Weakley County, with Vowell being a longtime businessman in Martin and the two young men both having graduated from Greenfield High School (Black in 2012 and Grooms in 2013). Black’s father, Mark Black, is chief deputy and a longtime officer with the Weakley County Sheriff’s Department.

Thomas said this is a very difficult time for all of their families, as well as for the entire community.

“It obviously goes without saying that there are no winners in this (situation). People are upset and they want to find out what happened and they want to find the suspect,” Thomas said.

“All of them are good families, no criminal histories. What can you say? It’s just terrible.”

Copyright 2021, The Messenger, Union City, TN

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Re: Double murder at Reelfoot Lake [Re: SouthBamaSlayer]#3336453Yesterday at 10:09 PM
bambam32 Offline
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Joined: Jul 2014
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One sources says there was an argument. Another says they agreed to let the guy hunt with them. It’ll probably be a while until the true story comes out.

What confuses me in that story is the third guy took the gun away and threw it in the water, yet when they found vowell’s boat there was a gun in it. So he had two guns with him or took one of the other guys guns and shot them with it.

Some guys carry two guns while duck hunting.  Especially places like Reelfoot where it's typically a long boat ride back to the truck if your gun malfunctions.
Also I think the third guy was wounded so if the old guy was hunting legally his three shots were fired and that's probably what allowed the third guy to take the gun from him.  Third, the rumor is that the 70 year old was losing some mental capacity, a few months ago he had tried to return some decoys to a store that he bought used and leaked.  The store turned him down and he flipped out, making a big scene.

Who knows what really happened.  The TBI seems like a solid bunch but when there's only one witness it will be hard to figure out.

That is going to give me night mares now, oh my god. I lose it if I see 1 snake and I proceed to empty my clip into him either it being 6 inches or 6 feet. Can't stand them.

Update - Reelfoot