Kansas man who died in Newfoundland fire was visiting for dream moose-hunting trip

ST. JOHN’S, N.L.

- A 77-year-old Kansas man who died in a western Newfoundland hotel fire was fulfilling a dream of hunting a moose — and his daughter says he got one. Gina Heller says her father, Eugene Earl Spoon, phoned her in a state of elation the evening before the fire to say he had successfully shot a Newfoundland moose. She says he was an avid hunter and had planned his bucket-list moose-hunting trip for months.

During the call — her last with her father — he spoke of the kindness of Newfoundlanders, and even passed the phone to a woman he had become friends with so Heller could say hello. Heller says the family received a call from police saying her father was missing after a fire on Saturday morning destroyed the Driftwood Inn in Deer Lake, N.L.

, where Spoon was a guest. RCMP confirmed Wednesday that his remains were found during a search of the fire area. Deer Lake Mayor Mike Goosney says Spoon’s family has asked that the meat from their father’s moose be donated to a local food bank.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2024..