Wildlife Agent Terry L. Hoffer

Terry L. Hoffer

Wildlife Agent Terry Hoffer was shot and killed while he and his partner were patrolling in the mountains along the Grand Coulee Maintenance Road southeast of Buckley, Washington, during elk season.

The officers waved to a Jeep to stop and Officer Hoffer's partner exited the patrol car to approach the vehicle. As he walked around the vehicle a shot rang out. The occupants of the Jeep shouted that someone was shooting at them from the woods and drove off. Agent Hoffer's partner returned to the patrol car and found that Agent Hoffer had been shot through the chest.

A person in the vehicle behind the Jeep wrote down the license plate number and the occupants were arrested later in the day. The investigation showed that one of the Jeep occupants were attempting to unload a hunting rifle at the time in order to avoid receiving a citation and accidentally fired it.

On June 26, 1985, the suspect was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and tampering with a witness. He was sentenced to 23 months in prison.

Agent Hoffer had served with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for seven years and had previously been an officer with another agency. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.