On a cold January morning, the serene landscape of Reelfoot Lake in northwestern Tennessee was shattered by an act of sudden and inexplicable violence that claimed the lives of two young friends. Chance Black, a 26-year-old man from Union City, Tennessee, and his friend Zachery Grooms, 25, were duck hunting on the lake on January 25, 2021, when their lives were tragically cut short.
The two men, who had grown up together and shared a passion for the outdoors, were in a duck blind with a third friend, Jeffrey Crabtree.
Their morning hunt took a dark turn when they were approached by 70-year-old David Vowell of Martin, Tennessee. Accounts from the surviving witness, Jeffrey Crabtree, indicate that Vowell asked if he could hunt with them. Shortly after being welcomed into their space, Vowell unexpectedly opened fire, shooting both Grooms and Black. Crabtree, in a desperate act of self-preservation and defense of his friends, wrestled the gun away from Vowell, striking him and causing him to fall into the waist-deep water. Crabtree then made the difficult decision to flee the scene in their boat to get help for his mortally wounded friends.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation quickly launched a manhunt for Vowell, who was considered armed and dangerous. An arrest warrant was issued, charging him with two counts of first-degree murder. The search for Vowell was hampered by challenging weather conditions, but his boat was soon discovered abandoned. The search concluded nearly a week later when Vowell's body was recovered from Reelfoot Lake, not far from the scene of the shootings.
An autopsy performed on Vowell was unable to determine a conclusive cause of death, suggesting it was likely a result of either drowning or hypothermia from the frigid lake waters. The toxicology report showed no mind-altering substances in his system. Investigators found no clear motive for the senseless killings, leaving a community to grapple with the shocking loss of two young men in their prime. While some initial reports mentioned a possible argument, the witness account suggests the attack was unprovoked. There were also reports that Vowell had been telling people he was in the early stages of dementia, though this was not officially confirmed. With the deaths of both the victims and the sole suspect, the tragic case was brought to a somber close, leaving behind lingering questions and profound grief for the families of Chance Black and Zachery Grooms.
