Man killed by authorities 'Into the wild' hunter

ANCHORAGE: A man fatally shot by authorities in Alaska over the weekend was a moose hunter who found the body of a young wanderer whose story was featured in the movie "Into the Wild," his nephew said Friday.

Gordon Samel was shot Sunday night after he backed his pickup toward a Wasilla police officer north of Anchorage, Alaska State Troopers said.

An investigative report will be provided to the state Department of Law to determine if deadly force was justified by a trooper and a Wasilla police officer, according to troopers.

Mr. Samel, 52 years old, was among three hunters who discovered the body of Christopher McCandless in an abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail near the interior Alaska town of Healy in 1992. Mr. McCandless was made famous by the book by Jon Krakauer and subsequent film directed by Sean Penn.

Ramo Samel, Gordon Samel's nephew, said his uncle was a good man, as well is a talented mechanic and auto-body specialist.

"He'd tell people that he went up there and he found him. But he didn't talk about it much," he said.