TEENAGER DIES IN HUNTING ACCIDENT

JACKSON -- A rural Jackson teenager is dead following a hunting accident Thursday in Cape Girardeau County.

Authorities identified the victim as Jason L. Aufdenberg, 15, of Jackson Route 2. The youth was accidentally shot by a 16-year-old companion, said Deputy Leonard Hines of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department.

Aufdenberg was pronounced dead at the scene, said Cape County Coroner John Carpenter.

The victim was shot twice in the back with a .22-caliber rifle, Carpenter said. He was shot by 16-year-old Steven Ray Walton of Jackson Route 4, he said. Another boy, Luke Seier, 11, was with Walton when the shooting occurred. Seier is of Jackson Route 2.

"It was a case of shooting before you see what you're shooting at," Carpenter said.

The three had gone hunting to a woods along County Road 465, two miles north of Highway 72, Carpenter said.

The three had separated, and had planned to meet at a particular spot in the woods, he said. Aufdenberg apparently had ventured into an area where Walton and Seier, who stayed together, didn't expect him to be.

"He (Walton) heard a noise in the brush and let off two quick shots," Carpenter said. "It was a very unfortunate accident."

Authorities were called to the scene at about 5:40 p.m., Hines said. An investigation is continuing, he said.

Aufdenberg is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Lynn Aufdenberg, Carpenter said.