Justin Beutel, 38, was shot and killed on November 15, 2018, the opening day of deer hunting season in Antrim County, Michigan. Beutel, described as an avid sportsman and Harley-Davidson mechanic, was hunting on his family’s private property near Torch Lake. After successfully shooting a buck and sending a photo to family, he began field dressing the deer when another hunter on the same property fatally shot him.

The shooter, identified as 45-year-old David Michael Barber of Gaylord, was a stranger to Beutel and had trespassed onto the marked property. From about 55 yards away Barber saw movement, believed it to be a deer, and fired; the bullet struck Beutel. Barber did not immediately summon help because his phone had died and he first went to others nearby; emergency personnel later pronounced Beutel dead at the scene. Barber was arrested and charged; prosecutors said his decision to fire without positively identifying the target was grossly negligent.

If anyone was on or near that property that day or has information about the events leading up to the shooting, please share what is known.