Palmer man dies from gun wound

KNIK RIVER -- A Palmer man died Sunday on a canoeing trip with a friend after he was shot in the back, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Shawn O'Connell, 27, was canoeing with a female hunting partner on the Knik River approximately 2 miles downstream from the Old Glenn Highway bridge when he was shot in the back with a .22-caliber handgun, according to a trooper dispatch.

The woman called 911 just after 6 p.m. Sunday to report O'Connell had been accidentally shot. She told dispatchers the gun went off when she slipped and the weapon fell out of her hand, troopers spokesman Greg Wilkinson said Monday. The pair were not in the canoe at the time of the shooting.

After the 911 call came in, a rescue effort quickly got under way Sunday evening as members of Butte ambulance and rescue, Mat-Su water rescue team and Central Mat-Su firefighters and rescue responded to the call.

Central Mat-Su fire chief Jack Krill said Butte ambulance and rescue asked planes in the area to look for the canoe Sunday night. Two pilots spotted the canoe upriver from the Eklutna Power Plant, Krill said, and gave rescuers directions on how to reach the location after pinpointing the closest access.

Members of Mat-Su water rescue launched a boat on the Knik River from the Glenn Highway, but Butte rescue and ambulance crews managed to reach O'Connell and the woman on foot. Butte medics hiked to the location of the canoe from the Old Glenn Highway, Krill said.

O'Connell was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to the State Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy, troopers said.

As of Monday morning, troopers had not released the name of the woman with O'Connell.

Contact John Davidson at john.davidson@frontiersman.com.