GIVEN, W.Va. -- Authorities say a U.S. Department of Agriculture forester fell to his death from a hunting tree stand in Jackson County on Saturday.
Mark Allen Metz, 53, of Milton, was bow-hunting for deer near Peppermint Creek Road in Given at about 7:15 p.m. when he slipped and fell 18 feet, said Hoy Murphy, Division of Natural Recourses spokesman.
Murphy said Metz landed headfirst and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Metz was a forester with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Cross Lanes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture website. Prior to that he owned a forestry business in Cabell County and was a forester for the state Division of Forestry in Kanawha and Boone counties.
Murphy said deadly falls outnumber accidental shooting deaths during the hunting seasons. Hunters are taught tree stand safety during mandatory training for hunting licenses, he said. The DNR recommends hunters wear a harness while in trees.
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