GILLESPIE COUNTY, Texas — In the rolling terrain east of Fredericksburg, Hill Country detectives are looking into a perplexing shooting death.
A woman from the Montgomery area, near Houston, called 911 Friday in a panic, saying she had just shot and killed a man she accused of drugging and kidnapping her.
The shooting happened a few minutes before 1 p.m. on heavily traveled U.S. 290 about eight miles east of town, as the couple was westbound.
"The woman was able to describe the vehicle she was in and the weapon that was used and the deputy observed a male in the front seat area who appeared to be deceased," said Gillespie County Sheriff Buddy Mills.
The man who died has been identified as 49-year-old Lance Damon Reid.
Reid's father, Barry, said his son was an engineer who recently moved to the Houston area for a government job that required a background check and security clearance.
"It's just a shocking, unbelievable thing," Barry Reid said. "I can't imagine Lance doing something like that. He certainly doesn't do drugs and he's working with a government clearance, so you don't get away with that. He wasn't a violent person. He loved people. He got along with everybody, (was) very sociable."
Reid's wife, Kellee, also provided a statement, saying: "There is an ongoing and thorough investigation. There is a lot more information to offer. We are confident that the truth will come out and that justice will be served."
Sheriff Mills said his investigators are working hard to get to the truth about what happened.
With regard to what led up to the shooting, Mills said the woman and Reid had recently met.
"(They) were on a planned weekend trip together when this unfortunate incident occurred."
Mills said although the woman appeared to have no significant injuries, she was taken to a nearby hospital to be evaluated and was released later in the day.
At first glance, Mills said, the woman's account seems credible—that she agreed to a trip before something unexpected may have happened.
"There's no telling what could have occurred. There's no real telling," Mills said. "In all the years I've been here, I've never heard of anything like this occurring here in the county."
Mills said Gillespie County is a very safe community that sees many visitors.
"290 is a very heavily travelled road that goes to all parts of the state. We have annual visitation of 1.3 million," Mills said. "I do believe they were just passing through. To whatever destination, I do not know."
Mills said he is giving his detectives plenty of time to conduct a thorough investigation.
"It seems like we don't have a lot of information. We do. They're gathering it," he added. "But as far as releasing it at this time, we're not doing that yet."
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