Man shot, killed in state park
November 20, 2006
By Charlene Bielema
Herald Editor
SAVANNA, Ill. — A Savanna man and his dog are dead today after being shot by a hunter at Mississippi Palisades State Park during the weekend.
Charles D. Pittman, 79, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting that happened as he was walking his dog in the park, according to a release issued by Illinois Conservation Police.
The accident occurred within the state park boundary near the intersection of Scenic Ridge Road and Dean Road. Police were called to the park at 7:34 a.m. Saturday after a 911 call was received at the Savanna 911 center.
According to police, Pittman parked his vehicle near a park service road located at the intersection and was walking in a part of the park closed to non-hunters due to the ongoing firearm deer season, which began Friday.
Police said Miles G. Floit, 51, of Rochelle, Ill., was shooting at a deer when he accidentally shot and killed Pittman and the dog. Floit is registered to hunt at the park.
Savanna ambulance workers, Savanna police, Carroll County sheriff’s deputies and the Illinois Conservation Police were called to the scene; Pittman was pronounced dead by the Carroll County coroner.
The shooting remains under investigation by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Illinois Conservation Police and the Illinois State Police.
Savanna man dies in hunting accident
Shot by Rochelle man as he walked dog in state park
November 19, 2006
By Phil Hartman
An elderly Savanna man and his dog were in the wrong place at the wrong time when they were shot and killed Saturday in the Mississippi Palisades State Park.
Charles D. Pittman, 79, a former employee at the Savanna Army Depot, drove to the park Saturday morning with his dog and parked near a service road, getting out to take a walk with his pet.
However, the service road, near the intersection of Scenic Ridge and Dean roads in the park, was closed due to the weekend's firearm deer hunting season.
The details of what happened next remain under investigation, but the 79-year-old Pittman and his dog were fatally shot in what authorities described as a hunting accident.
Pittman, of 820 N. Fourth St., was pronounced dead at the scene Saturday morning by Carroll County Coroner Matt Jones, according to a release from the Illinois Conservation Police.
According to investigators, Pittman and his dog were walking when Miles G. Floit, 51, of Rochelle, shot at a deer, striking Pittman and the dog.
Authorities provided no further information.
Savanna resident Paul Brunner knew Pittman from working with him at the Army depot.
"I met him in 1949. He drove a truck," Brunner said.
When Brunner saw Pittman in recent years, the two would talk about their times at the depot.
"He was friendly. He was always talkative," Brunner said.
