70-year-old duck hunter who allegedly killed 2 men found dead in swamp

REELFOOT LAKE, Tenn. – David Vowell, the 70-year-old man accused of killing two fellow duck hunters in rural Tennessee earlier this week, was found dead on Saturday.

Vowell was found dead in Reelfoot Lake, not far from where the two men were fatally shot Monday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.

Chance Black, 26, and Zachery Grooms, 25, were in Reelfoot Lake in northwestern Tennessee on Monday morning when Vowell approached them and got into a verbal altercation, prosecutor Tommy Thomas told ABC News. Vowell is said to have opened fire and killed both Black and Grooms.

Thomas said earlier this week that it was not known whether Vowell knew the two victims.

Vowell’s body was found around 3 p.m. local time Saturday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said. Authorities said he had been positively identified but an autopsy would be performed. A cause of death has not been disclosed.

Vowell had fled the shooting scene on foot when his boat was salvaged and the car he drove to the boat ramp was also impounded, Thomas said Wednesday.

He had been wanted on two counts of first degree murder. He was considered armed and dangerous, authorities said.

The search was conducted in a large, extremely rural area – Reelfoot Lake State Park – near the Missouri-Kentucky border. Reelfoot Lake itself is 15,000 acres and is surrounded by thick, murky swampland filled with cypress trees.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation posted images of those who searched the area on Friday, showing the adverse conditions they faced.

Emily Shapiro and Matt Foster from ABC News contributed to this report.