SUBLIMITY, Ore. (AP) — A California member of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves has been shot and killed in Oregon after authorities say a hunter mistook him for a bear.
Christopher Ochoa, a 20-year-old from French Camp, Calif., and a friend were hiking through a field in Western Oregon on the way to Silver Creek Falls Park on Friday evening. Ochoa was wearing dark-colored clothing.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office says a 67-year-old Oregon man hunting for bear with his 12-year-old grandson saw something moving in the brush and fired one shot from a .270-caliber rifle, striking Ochoa.
The sheriff's office says the hunter, Gene Collier, hasn't been charged, but turned the case over to the local district attorney's office.
