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- A 24-year-old local archer-hunter bled to death Tuesday after walking a half-mile through rugged Green Point, area terrain with a steel-tipped arrow piercing his thigh. He was identified by Jonestown state police as Robert Larry Sholly, a steelworker of 903 Miller St. Police and hunters said he was the victim of a freak hunting accident believed to be without parallel in the area's history. According to police, he fell about 20 feet from a tree-platform onto the arrow. Sholly, with a hunting arrow piercing his left thigh, was found dead-in his car a half-mile north of Green Point Church about 3:20 p.m. Tuesday. The scene was along a township road. His death was believed the first county hunting tragedy during the current season. Dr. A. H. Heisey, Lebanon County coroner, said Sholly apparently died from loss of blood. He pronounced Sholly dead at the scene and ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause o f death. Dr. Leonard M. Tanner, Good Samaritan Hospital pathologist, said late this morning that the autopsy confirmed that Sholly bled to death. The physician said the arrow had cut the great vessels of the leg, both the artery and the vein. "There is no evidence of foul play," he added. Medical sources this morning also said that had Sholly used the proper material for the tourniquet he placed on his bleeding leg he might be alive today. It was pointed out that Sholly had used his T-shirt for the pressure bandage but the shirt was made of knitted material that stretches. As a result it did not serve the purpose intended. A medical spokesman said the use of Sholly's belt or shoelaces would have been more effective in staunching the flow of blood from the wound. A knowledge of pressure points at which to place a tourniquet Is also important, the medical spokesman said, as he pointed out the importance of knowing something about emergency first aid techniques. When he applied the tourniquet to his leg, Sholly broke off part of the shaft of the arrow penetrating his leg. This he used to turn the T-shirt tourniquet and apply pressure to the leg. A small portion of the arrow shaft was found at the accident scene. The finding of Sholly's body at first resulted in fears of foul play. The police investigation, however, revealed that Sholly had apparently fallen from the tree and then had walked a half-mile with the arrow in his thigh to his car. He was apparently attempting to drive for assistance when he died. His car, police said, was parked off the road on the side of an embankment. The car was not damaged and the ignition switch was off. Police said he had apparently applied a tourniquet to his leg. Police said their investigation disclosed that Sholly had been hunting alone in the Green Point area, about eight miles north of Jonestown. He had apparently hunted in the area regularly with a bow and arrow, police said, because he had built a platform stand in a tree. The stand included a hoisting device for pulling up hunting equipment from the ground. Police theorized after their investigation that Sholly had been hoisting a quiver of arrows when the quiver tipped and the arrows fell to the ground. As Sholly apparently tried to climb down to pick up the arrows he fell on top of one arrow and it pierced his upper leg. The arrow entered the rear of the left thigh and emerged at the front, police said. Police said Sholly's car was spotted parked about a mile from the accident scene. Children on a school bus were credited with seeing the parked car along the township road that leads from the Green Point Church to the Gold Mine Road. The bus driver notified police and Trooper Edward McCliment was dispatched to investigate. When Sholly's body was found in the car, State Police Sgt. Stanley Pijar and Cpl. Eugene Rickert of the Jonestown substation were called to the scene along with District Attorney Alvin B. Lewis Jr. An unidentified spectator at the scene gave police an assist when he told of having previously seen the car at the spot where it was parked at the time of the accident. When police went there they had little difficulty following a trail of blood from the car to the scene of the accident. Some of Sholly's hunting equipment was still on the platform, police said. Sholly's body was removed to the Good Samaritan Hospital in the Jonestown ambulance. The area where the accident occurred is rugged and one in which it is possible to walk a considerable distance at this time of the year without encountering another human or signs of habitation. The bow and arrow season for hunting deer, in which a relatively small number of hunters participate, proceeds the regular hunting season that generally brings a small army of hunters into the Green Point area. The type of arrow generally used in hunting, archers say, is a broad head honed to razor sharpness. When the shaft penetrates an animal, it is said to be painless. The arrow is designed to cause the quarry to bleed to death. Sholly was a son of Robert M. and Edith Auman Sholly, with whom he resided. He was employed by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation and was a member of the Jonestown Bible Church. He was also a member of the Fredericksburg American Legion, and the Friendship and Independent Fire Companies, Lebanon. He had been discharged from the U. S. Army in April. He was a 1959 graduate of Lebanon High School. In addition to his parents he is survived by his wife, nee Mary Houtz; a brother, Dennis B., at home, and a sister, Mrs. Shelva Jean Werdt, Palmyra. Also surviving are his grandmothers, Mrs. Mabel Auman and Mrs. Edna Sholly, Lebanon, and two nephews and two nieces. [Lebanon daily News, October 5, 1966, Page 1 & 36]
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1941 - 1966 (25 years)
