On a crisp autumn morning, the first weekend of elk season, the woods near Buckley, Washington, were alive with the promise of the hunt. It was Saturday, November 10, 1984, when Wildlife Agent Terry L. Hoffer, a 36-year-old Caucasian male, was on patrol with his partner, Agent Jim Suda. The two agents were patrolling on Saint Regis Paper Property, about nine miles southeast of Buckley, when they signaled a Jeep to stop for a routine license check. As Agent Suda stepped out of their patrol vehicle, a single shot shattered the morning's quiet.
The two men inside the Jeep, later identified as James Fischer and Frank McCormick, shouted that someone was shooting at them and quickly drove away. Agent Suda returned to the patrol vehicle to find that his partner, Agent Hoffer, had been struck by the bullet. The round had penetrated the driver's side door and hit Hoffer in the chest. Despite being rushed to Enumclaw Hospital, Agent Terry L. Hoffer succumbed to the gunshot wound. He had served with the Washington Department of Wildlife for seven years and was a married father of two daughters.
An alert witness in a vehicle behind the Jeep had the presence of mind to write down the license plate number. This crucial piece of information led Pierce County deputies to the registered owner's home in Parkland the following day. There, they arrested James Fischer and Frank McCormick. The investigation revealed that the fatal shot was fired from an 8mm rifle that was recovered at the scene of the arrest. It was determined that Fischer had been attempting to unload the weapon to avoid a misdemeanor charge for having a loaded firearm in a vehicle when it accidentally discharged.
James Fischer was subsequently charged with first-degree manslaughter. On June 26, 1985, he was convicted of the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter and also found guilty of tampering with a witness. For his role in the tragic death of Wildlife Agent Terry L. Hoffer, James Fischer was sentenced to 23 months in prison.
