Ray Bernard Wells and James Rheinhart Horton die in fatal Laurel hunting accident
Fatal Laurel hunting death of Ray Bernard Wells and James Rheinhart Horton – Obituary
Two men, both 71 years old, were discovered deceased on Thursday after they went missing while hunting south of Laurel the previous day.
Yellowstone County Deputy Coroner Rich Hoffman confirmed the identities of the victims as Ray Bernard Wells from Park City and James Rheinhart Horton from Laurel.
The two men had set out for a hunting trip early Wednesday morning on private land near Laurel. According to Kurt Markegard, the city’s interim chief administrative officer, the pair were longtime friends who enjoyed deer hunting together.
The search began Wednesday evening, with multiple agencies, along with friends and family, combing the area between Spring Creek Road and Price Hill Road. Markegard noted that Horton, the driver of the vehicle, had been a personal friend of his for 40 years.
Assisting in the search were the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department, the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, and the Air National Guard.
Laurel Fire Chief JW Hopper expressed appreciation for the coordinated efforts, saying the different agencies worked seamlessly to expedite the search. Despite the initial efforts, the search was particularly challenging due to the terrain. The UTV the hunters were using had rolled down a ravine, making it difficult to spot.
Markegard explained that after conducting a grid search from the air, they found the vehicle in the ravine. “We just found him in a ravine,” he said, though he did not want to go into further details. The search revealed that the hunters had traveled from the top of a coulee to the bottom before the tragic accident occurred.