KCRA 3’S CORTEZ HEARD FROM LOVED ONES ABOUT THE LIFE HE LEAVES BEHIND. IT WAS OH MY GOD. YOU KNOW, THERE’S THERE’S A REALLY GOOD GUY, AN EXPEDITION. NO ONE THOUGHT WOULD TURN INTO A TRAGEDY. I GUESS THE INITIAL REACTION FOR ME WAS SHOCKED. HE’D BEEN THERE. I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES. A LOT OF TIMES IN AFRICA. A COMMUNITY NOW MOURNING THE LOSS OF 75 YEAR OLD ERNIE DOZIER, KILLED DURING A HUNTING TRIP IN CENTRAL AFRICA. REPORTS SAY DOZIER WAS TRACKING A SPECIFIC SPECIES OF ANTELOPE WHEN A HERD OF ELEPHANTS SUDDENLY CHARGED IN DENSE BRUSH, TRAMPLING AND KILLING HIM. WHEN YOU’RE JUST WALKING ALONG AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE’S A BULL ELEPHANT IN FRONT OF YOU, AND THEIR THEIR EARS FLARE OUT. DOCO AND A HUNTER WERE EXPLORING GABON’S SLOPE REGION, HOME TO AN ESTIMATED 95,000 ELEPHANTS THAT CAN REACH SPEEDS UP TO 25MPH. WHAT GOES THROUGH YOU IS IS UNDESCRIBABLE. BUT THEN I KNEW I HAD TO RUN. ROBERT DIETZ, A FRIEND OF DOZIER’S THROUGH THE SACRAMENTO SAFARI CLUB, SAYS HEARING OF HIS PASSING WAS DIFFICULT, BUT SAYS HIS HUMANITARIAN IMPACT WENT BEYOND THE HUNT. THOUSANDS OF LETTERS OF THANK YOU THAT WE’VE RECEIVED OVER THE YEARS FROM ALL OF THE KIDS. YES. WHICH IS WHAT ERNIE DIETZ, POINTING TO YEARS OF HUMANITARIAN WORK SUPPORTING CHILDREN AND COMMUNITIES TIED TO THOSE TRIPS. ERNIE IS ONE OF THE MOST GENEROUS, HELPFUL GUYS I’VE BEEN AROUND. LONGTIME FRIEND DAX MCCARTY SAYS DOZIER GENEROSITY TOWARDS HIS FRIENDS IS WHAT DEFINED HIM MOST. I THINK ERNIE ACTUALLY SENT A TEXT TO THE DAY BEFORE ERNIE WAS WAS KILLED HERE. I THINK HE SENT HIM A TEXT AND TOLD HIM HAPPY ANNIVERSARY. A FINAL MESSAGE THAT SAYS EVERYTHING TO THE MAN HE WAS. HOW MANY PEOPLE GET TO DO WHAT THEY LOVE TO DO? AND THAT’S THEIR LAST DAYS. DENSON CORTEZ, KCRA THREE NEWS.
California man killed after sudden encounter with herd of elephants during hunting trip
A Northern California grape grower and avid hunter from Lodi was killed during a hunting trip in Central Africa after a sudden encounter with a herd of elephants.Ernie Dosio, 75, was tracking a species of antelope in Gabon’s Lope region on April 17 when the elephants charged through dense brush, trampling and killing him. The region is home to an estimated 95,000 elephants, which can reach speeds of up to 25 miles per hour.“When you’re just walking along and, all of a sudden, there’s a bull elephant in front of you, and their ears flare out,” said Robert Deitz, a member of the Sacramento Safari Club, describing his own encounter with an elephant during an expedition.Deitz said Dosio was an experienced hunter who had made multiple trips to Africa over the years. Beyond the hunts, he said Dosio was deeply committed to humanitarian efforts tied to those expeditions.Longtime friend Dax McCarty described Dosio as “one of the most generous, helpful guys I’ve been around.”McCarty said Dosio would invite friends to his farm in Modesto, where he showed them his grape-growing operation. Dosio owned Pacific Agrilands, a 12,000-acre vineyard in Modesto.
A Northern California grape grower and avid hunter from Lodi was killed during a hunting trip in Central Africa after a sudden encounter with a herd of elephants.
Ernie Dosio, 75, was tracking a species of antelope in Gabon’s Lope region on April 17 when the elephants charged through dense brush, trampling and killing him.
The region is home to an estimated 95,000 elephants, which can reach speeds of up to 25 miles per hour.
“When you’re just walking along and, all of a sudden, there’s a bull elephant in front of you, and their ears flare out,” said Robert Deitz, a member of the Sacramento Safari Club, describing his own encounter with an elephant during an expedition.
Deitz said Dosio was an experienced hunter who had made multiple trips to Africa over the years. Beyond the hunts, he said Dosio was deeply committed to humanitarian efforts tied to those expeditions.
Longtime friend Dax McCarty described Dosio as “one of the most generous, helpful guys I’ve been around.”
McCarty said Dosio would invite friends to his farm in Modesto, where he showed them his grape-growing operation. Dosio owned Pacific Agrilands, a 12,000-acre vineyard in Modesto.
