On November 17, 2014, a hunting party from Illinois conducting a deer drive on a farm southeast of Novelty, Missouri, suffered a tragic accident. James Funk, 31, of Mascoutah, Illinois, was struck by a gunshot fired by his uncle, 54-year-old David Wheeler, after Wheeler fired at a deer about 2:00 p.m. Funk was airlifted to Blessing Hospital in Quincy, Illinois, then transferred to Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Illinois, where he died of his injuries on November 20, 2014.

The Missouri Department of Conservation and local law enforcement reconstructed the scene and interviewed the hunting party. Investigators concluded the shooting was accidental, found no evidence of malicious intent or criminal negligence, and made no arrests or charges. The case was closed as a hunting accident.

If anyone has additional information about that deer drive or the events that afternoon, please share what you know.