Richard Vance, 34, of Branchland, West Virginia, was fatally shot the evening of October 13, 2022, at a residence in the 100 block of Sand Gap Road in Lincoln County. State police and other Hamlin-area units responded shortly after 6:30 p.m. Vance suffered a gunshot wound from a single round fired from a long gun and was flown by HealthNet to Cabell Huntington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators treated the shooting as a homicide and identified another Branchland resident, 30-year-old Cory Donahue, as the person suspected of firing the shot. Donahue was located on Sand Gap Road soon after the incident, taken into custody without incident, and was formally charged with murder and booked into the regional jail system. Initial reports did not disclose what led to the confrontation, whether the two had argued beforehand, or whether any other suspects were involved. The State Police said the investigation remained ongoing.

If anyone knew Richard Vance or saw activity on Sand Gap Road the evening of October 13, 2022, please share what you know with investigators.