Ten-year-old Wyatt Ray Eaves Nibert of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, died after a hunting trip in Mason County that ended with an overnight search and a devastating discovery. He went squirrel hunting with his grandfather on Saturday, September 9, 2023, in the Salt Creek area near Gallipolis Ferry. Wyatt, wearing camouflage and carrying a .22-caliber rifle, walked away after lunch to look for squirrels and did not return; his grandfather later was involved in an ATV accident while trying to find him.

Volunteers, deputies, firefighters, and West Virginia State Police searched the woods from Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning. Early on Sunday, September 10, 2023, Wyatt was found dead; investigators said he had suffered a single gunshot wound and his body was sent to the West Virginia State Medical Examiner’s Office as authorities continued to determine what happened. His mother said Wyatt knew gun safety and had been taught proper handling, making the circumstances especially painful for the family.

Wyatt was a fifth-grade student at Roosevelt Elementary School who loved the outdoors, hunting, fishing, wrestling, heavy metal music, and anything connected to the military; his mother said he wanted to become a Marine. No arrests, charges, suspects, trial, or conviction have been reported, and authorities had not publicly said whether foul play was suspected as of the latest report. If anyone was in the Salt Creek area on September 9 who saw Wyatt or has information about that day, please come forward.