RCMP take bear hunter investigation to Pennsylvania
Last Updated: Monday, September 24, 2007 | 7:23 AM NT
CBC News
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The family of an American hunter shot and killed by his wife in central Newfoundland last year say they have received new information about the police investigation.
RCMP officers from Newfoundland were in Pennsylvania last week to interview friends and relatives of Mark Harshbarger, 43, who was hunting for bears in September 2006 near Buchans Junction with his wife, Mary Beth Harshbarger.
She shot and killed her husband, and told police she mistook him for a bear.
Mark Harshbarger's brother, Dean, who lives in Pennsylvania, said he was interviewed by police officers from Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor last week.
He said the investigators were seeking specific information.
"[They wanted to know] if I had any type of information that would point specifically to her having said anything or done anything to indicate that she had done this intentionally," Dean Harshbarger.
He said he told the RCMP that most in his family have had very little contact with Mary Beth Harshbarger since the shooting.
During the interview, Harshbarger said, he put a few questions to the police. He said he found out that police have twice tried to recreate what happened on the evening that Mark Harshbarger was shot.
Dean Harshbarger said police told him they have so much material it could be some time before the investigation is finished.
Harshbarger said his family is still looking for answers.
"This isn't a vendetta to put her behind bars for life, or anything like that," Dean Harshbarger said.
"It's an issue of responsibility. She hasn't even said 'I'm sorry' to my father for killing Mark. I mean this is terrible."
The RCMP has had little to say about the investigation. Last week, the police issued a terse statement confirming that investigators had travelled to Pennsylvania.
Dean Harshbarger said if his sister-in-law did not intend to kill his brother, at the very least the incident was reckless hunting.
He said the police have tried to speak to his sister-in-law again, but that she has now exercised her legal right to remain silent.
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