WKRN/Peg Broadcasting News
The body of an old man suspected of killing two young duck hunters has been recovered in the waters of Reelfoot Lake. The TBI says the body of 70-year-old David Vowell was found around 3pm Saturday, January 30, 2021. Mr. Vowell became the primary suspect after Jeffrey Crabtree reportedly told authorities that Vowell came upon a duck blind that he was sitting in on Monday morning (1/25/2021) along with 26-year-old Chance Black and 25-year-old Zachery Grooms. Crabtree said Mr. Vowell asked to join the trio in the stand and then starting firing shots, fatally injuring both Black and Grooms. Mr. Black was the son of Chief Deputy Mark Black of the Weakley County Sheriff’s Department. According to WKRN, Mr. Crabtree told police he fought the elderly man and wrestled the gun out of his hand and threw it in the water. He also said he knocked the old man out of the boat he was in. Crabtree reportedly said he took off for shore and the last time he saw Mr. Vowell, the old man was standing in waist deep water. The motive for the killings remains unclear. Mr. Vowell was owner of Vowell Lumber Company in Martin, Tennessee. He reportedly had no criminal history and a reputation for being very mild-mannered. It also remains unclear why Mr. Vowell “fled on foot”, leaving both his boat at the scene of the shootings and his vehicle at the boat ramp. The body of Mr. Vowell reportedly did not have any gunshot wounds and his cause of death has not been released.