A 16-year-old boy from Diamondville, Wyoming, died in a firearm-related hunting accident Thursday, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said Friday.
Just before 7 p.m. Thursday, sheriff’s deputies, emergency medical services and Lincoln County Search and Rescue responded to a report of a hunting accident in the Elk Mountain area near Kemmerer.
“The accident investigation is ongoing and there will be no further information released at this time,” a sheriff's office statement says.
Neither the coroner nor the sheriff’s office responded by publication time.
Later Friday afternoon, Ball Family Chapel in Kemmerer posted a death notice for Austin Shane Stiles.
"He was born on March 22, 2010, the son of Thomas and Ashley (Stiles) Croft," the funeral home said in its notice. "His obituary will be posted soon on our website and funeral services are pending to be held at the South Lincoln Training and Event Center in Kemmerer."
Along with the notice was an engaging photo of Austin smiling while sitting in a wooden replica "Game of Thrones" throne.
Kemmerer Mayor Robert Bowen told Cowboy State Daily on Friday he didn't know more than what has been publicly released, but said the loss will be felt throughout the small southwest Wyoming community.
'It'll Hit Hard'
“It’ll hit hard,” Bowen said. “When we lose one of our youth it always does. Our children are our greatest investment.”
Rosie’s Pizzeria and Sports Bar, a Kemmerer restaurant where the boy worked, posted on Facebook that it was closed Friday after learning of the teen's death late Thursday night.
“Today we are all trying to make sense of it and dealing with it in our own way,” the post says. “The crew has decided to stay home tonight as many are still in tears.”
A Kemmerer resident started a Facebook group to organize an auction for the teen's family. As of Friday afternoon, about an hour after the group was created, it had nearly 200 members volunteering to donate goods and services.
Bowen said while he didn’t know the boy's identity, he wanted to extend his sympathy to the family.
“Losing a child is trauma that most people may never experience,” Bowen said. “For those that do, our sincerest sympathies and condolences go out to them. As a small community, we’re here to help each other in every way we can.”
Emma Jane Jackson can be reached at emma@cowboystatedaily.com.
