MEARS – On Sunday, a 59-year-old man believed to have shot an acquaintance in the leg was fatally wounded by law enforcement during an officer-involved shooting following an extended manhunt in the Mears area of Oceana County, authorities said.

According to the incident log provided by Oceana County Central Dispatch, the shooting of the victim was reported at 10:37 a.m. Sunday on West Fox Road. Authorities said the victim and suspect, Don Albert Stapel Jr., were known to each other, but the extent of their relationship was not known as of press time. The victim was taken for medical treatment and survived the shooting.

Stapel lived in the 7500 block of West Fox Road, where Michigan State Police (MSP) troopers from the Hart Post advised residents to shelter in place during the search. He

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