Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho
End of Watch: Wednesday, May 29, 1974
Age: 27
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Aircraft accident
Date of Incident: May 29, 1974
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Conservation Officer Samuel Buntrock was killed in an airplane crash near Montpelier while conducting an elk survey in the Caribou National Forest.
He and two members of the United States Forest Service were in a Cessna 182 that had taken off from Pocatello in the morning. A search was initiated after the plane failed to return. The wreckage was located in a canyon near Montpelier later in the afternoon. Officer Buntrock, the pilot, and both Forest Service employees were killed in the crash.