DNR: Hunter fatally shot father, daughter after mistaking them for deer

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Emergency officials say a father and his daughter were killed in a hunting accident when they were mistaken for deer in Colleton County on Wednesday.

The Colleton County Coroner’s Office said 30-year-old Kim Drawdy and 9-year-old Lauren Drawdy died. Both will have autopsies on Sunday at MUSC.

The accident happened in a wooded area on Barracada Road near Walterboro.

An SCDNR spokeswoman said the Drawdys and two other hunters were deer driving, moving deer near to the area where they were set up to hunt.

According to DNR officials, one of the hunters mistook the Drawdys for deer and shot and killed them. Investigators have not said why the victims were mistaken for deer.

Kim Drawdy’s brother, Benny, spoke on Thursday and said the family is having a difficult time.

“I was devastated," Benny Drawdy said. "I couldn’t believe it when I first got the news. I said,'It couldn’t be.' It broke my heart and I couldn’t believe it, a twin brother and now there’s only one left.”

On Thursday, DNR officers and Colleton County deputies went back to the wooded area to continue their investigation.

The Drawdy family is waiting for the findings and also preparing for two funerals.

“Of all days, ringing in the new year, something like this happens,” Drawdy said. “I got a phone call. They said there was a hunting accident in Walterboro. They thought it was my brother and we come to find out it was.”

“Shocked, just shocked,” said Shirley Williams, a friend of the Drawdy family. "It should have never happened, should have never happened. How some simple hunting trip can turn into a tragedy is beyond me. I don’t know how it could possibly happen.”

“It’s been a rough night...a rough night for everybody,” Benny Drawdy said.

Coroner Richard Harvey said autopsies will be done on the Drawdys on Sunday.

During the time of the incident, residents reported several law enforcement and emergency units in the area.

A call for the incident came in at 2:35 p.m. SCDNR authorities are continuing the investigation.

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