Full Notification

ST. FRANCISVILLE, La. (AP) — A veteran agent with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries was shot in the chest with a shotgun and killed in the early morning hours on Friday while he apparently was tracking down a complaint about illegal hunting in woods near the Mississippi River, according to investigators.

The body of Sgt. Paul Stuckey, 47, was found at about 7 a.m. next to his patrol truck on a gravel river road by fishermen just outside St. Francisville in West Feliciana Parish. At 2:15 a.m., he reported to his supervisor that he was heading out to investigate a tip about illegal nighttime hunting, according to wildlife officials.

State police investigators, the lead detectives, said they had no suspects as of Friday.

Lt. Doug Cain, a state police spokesman, said there were signs that Stuckey was in the midst of surveillance when he was killed. Cain said Stuckey had binoculars on his truck's dashboard, had made it so the lights inside his truck could not be seen and had filled out his patrol log.

"There are definite indications that he was on an investigation," Cain said.

But he said investigators had a lot more work to do such as ballistics tests and DNA analysis. He said there were no obvious clues gathered from the scene.

"There are certainly a lot of unanswered questions," he said.

West Feliciana Sheriff Austin Daniel said the coroner indicated that Stuckey probably was shot and killed sometime after 2:15 a.m., perhaps around daybreak.

"It didn't look like a scuffle had taken place," Daniel said. He said it appeared Stuckey had been struck by a shot from close range.

Stuckey was an 18-year department veteran and had a wife and three children. He lived in Zachary.

"We're obviously heart sick, all of us at Wildlife and Fisheries," said Robert Barham, the department secretary. "It's an empty feeling to lose one of our agents."

He called Stuckey "one of our real stars."

Barham said it was unclear what happened. He said it was common for wildlife agents to go out alone and investigate calls about illegal hunting in the middle of the night.

"It's a call agents will perform every night of the year," he said.

Adam Einck, a department spokesman, said Stuckey was the sixth agent killed in the line of duty in the past 20 years.