Murder of 2 Hunters Remains a Mystery : Florida: Authorities warn that the killer is still on the loose. Investigators fear the slayer will strike again sometime before hunting season ends.

In the cool of the morning, when Gordon Vines takes to the woods, he has more on his mind than the game he might bag or the splendors of nature he is about to enjoy.

He can’t help but think about Gregory Alan Wood and Don Hill--two hunters who themselves became the hunted, gunned down in public deer hunting areas more than a year ago by an unknown assailant for unknown reasons.

“I go into the woods fairly frequently,” Vines said, “and since that happened there is always that little question in the back of your mind when you encounter somebody, who are they and what is going on.

“I don’t know that I will ever forget what happened. I hope it never happens again.”

Authorities want hunters like Vines to be wary; the killer is still on the loose, and investigators fear that he or she will strike again sometime before hunting season ends in mid-February.

The November, 1993, murders of Wood, 35, and Hill, 63, remain unsolved, despite a $45,000 reward and weekly meetings of a 10-member law enforcement task force set up to catch the killer.

“It’s a hard case,” said Clay County Sheriff Scott Lancaster, who hopes the attention being devoted to the anniversary of the killings will generate more leads. “We’re hammering away at it.”

Wood’s body was found on Thanksgiving Day after he failed to return from a hunting trip. His family has placed a plaque in his memory at the entrance to the 62,340-acre Camp Blanding Wildlife Management Area.

It reads: “In loving memory of Greg Wood. May all who pass here go with peace in harmony with nature and all mankind. 11-24-93.”

Five days earlier, Hill’s body was found near a deer tree stand in the 186,926-acre Osceola National Forest in neighboring Baker County.

Hill had been robbed and was shot once in the back and once in the head as he sat in a tree stand. Wood was shot at close range with a shotgun.

Police said they have evidence the same person is responsible for both killings but will not disclose it. Sgt. Dan Smith, a spokesman for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, said a motive remains unclear. Hill’s wallet and hunting knife were stolen and authorities have refused to say if Wood was robbed.

“We do think robbery may have been a part of it, but we are not saying that was the only motive,” Smith said. One reason robbery is not believed to be the main motive is that hunters carry very little cash with them.

Both killings occurred in the afternoon and were near county roads that run near the wildlife areas. Although both men were from the Jacksonville suburb of Orange Park, there was no evidence that they even knew each other.

The 10-member task force includes officers from Clay and Baker counties, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission and the Camp Blanding security force.

Smith said the sheriff’s departments and game officials are patrolling the woods heavily. Wildlife officers are writing down the automobile tag numbers of hunters entering the Blanding area.

Authorities are advising hunters to use the buddy system, pairing up to keep tabs on each other. It is suggested that they tell someone where they will be hunting and what time they expect to return.

“Obviously it is a dangerous situation,” for hunters and others who enjoy the outdoors, said Bill Lahnen, treasurer of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Florida State Chapter.

Lahnen said he has hunted in the management areas before would do so again, but added, “I would be cautious.”

And that’s just what authorities want. They have distributed safety brochures at points where hunting licenses are issued and at check-in stations in state management areas in North Florida.

“These murders should be in the back of everyone’s minds so they don’t let their guard down,” Smith said.