Two Miami hunters die after lightning strike while hunting in Florida wetlands

Two hunters from Miami, ages 38 and 31, were killed when struck by lightning while hunting in Florida wetlands on Wednesday, authorities said. Responders to Rucks Dairy Road around 1:30 p.m. found an abandoned car and later located the men's bodies, along with their two hunting dogs. Initial investigations indicated a lightning strike as the cause of death, and the Medical Examiner's Office had not yet ruled an official finding.

The Highlands County Sheriff's Office said the hunters had not returned from their outing, and the incident occurred in the rural wetlands near the county. Sheriff Paul Blackman offered a warning about the danger, saying, "Our area gets more lightning than just about anywhere else in the country, especially in the summer. If you can hear thunder, that means lightning is close enough to strike, even if the sky doesn’t look too bad yet. It is essential to pay attention and plan ahead when storms approach." The victims’ identities had not been publicly released pending notification of relatives.

In a related case in Colorado, investigators said two elk hunters were killed by a lightning strike earlier this month in the Rio Grande National Forest. Andrew Porter, 25, of Asheville, North Carolina, and Ian Stasko, 25, of Salt Lake City, Utah, were last heard from Sept. 11 and were found Sept. 18 roughly two miles from the trailhead. The Conejos County Coroner, Richard Martin, said the men were found beneath a tree with small burns on their bodies, and the deaths were likely instantaneous. "That kind of death is instant. It’s like you’re alive and now you’re not. Just that quick. Split second," he remarked, as reported by local outlets.

Porter’s fiancée, Bridget Murphy, posted on social media that the men were caught in a storm and had been attempting to return to their car when struck. Murphy wrote, "It is OFFICIAL, that a lightning strike near them took them in an instant. He was an experienced outdoorsman, who was in the wrong spot at the wrong time," according to coverage by The Colorado Sun. Porter and Stasko had spent days in the wilderness together and were found without a camp, wearing camouflage with a single shared daypack between them, prosecutors noted. The Conejos County Sheriff said the men had spent days in the wilderness together before their deaths.

Officials urged outdoor enthusiasts to monitor weather conditions closely and seek shelter at the first sign of lightning. In Florida’s flatlands, thunderstorms can yield dangerous lightning even when skies do not appear especially threatening, and authorities remind the public that hearing thunder is an escalation cue to seek shelter immediately.