Lukas Dudley, a 28-year-old Native American man from Bemidji, Minnesota, was a logger and a member of the Turtle Clan. According to his family, he was a father of three with a fiancée and was remembered for his love of the outdoors. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and cooking, and was devoted to his family and friends. He was raised in Red Lake and graduated from Bemidji High School in 2010.
On the evening of November 25, 2020, Dudley was deer hunting in Nebish Township, near the boundary
of the Red Lake Reservation in Beltrami County. At around dusk, another hunter, 33-year-old Rain Stately of Redby, saw movement from about 200 yards away. Believing he was looking at a deer, Stately fired a single round from his rifle. When he walked over to the spot, he discovered that he had shot Dudley. The two men were not part of the same hunting party.
Stately immediately called 911 to report the shooting. When authorities arrived, they noted that Dudley was wearing brown camouflage and not the high-visibility blaze orange clothing typically recommended for hunter safety. Stately cooperated fully with the investigation and was described in official documents as being extremely remorseful.
The investigation involved the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Enforcement, and the FBI. Both Dudley and Stately were members of the Red Lake Nation and were participating in the Red Lake firearms deer season when the shooting occurred.
Following the investigation, the Beltrami County Attorney’s Office charged Rain Stately with second-degree manslaughter in connection with Lukas Dudley’s death. According to the criminal complaint, a conviction for this charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. As of the filing of the charges, the case is proceeding through the legal system.
