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from: glowfoot
cache-ntc-ac02.proxy.aol.com
05-02-21
15:26:20
Maverick Journalist Takes His Own Life ASPEN, Colo. (Feb. 21) - While Hunter S. Thompson's suicide shocked many in his out-of-the-way neighborhood, one of his closest friends said Monday the writer had been in a lot of pain after a broken leg and hip surgery. ''I wasn't surprised,'' said George Stranahan, a former owner of the Woody Creek Tavern, one of Thompson's favorite hangouts. ''I never expected Hunter to die in a hospital bed with tubes coming out of him.'' Thompson was found dead in his home Sunday night from a gunshot wound that appeared to be self-inflicted, said Joe DiSalvo, a spokesman for the Pitkin County Sheriff's Department. Authorities refused to say whether a note was found, but a family statement said Thompson had taken his own life. His adult son, Juan, found his body Sunday evening. Investigators recovered the weapon, a .45-caliber handgun. An autopsy was planned. DiSalvo said the investigation was continuing but declined to elaborate. Neighbors in Thompson's Woody Creek neighborhood said a broken leg had kept him from getting out as often as in the past, including to the tavern. But Shep Harris, who now owns the tavern, said Thompson would sometimes slip in for a drink and a smoke if no one else was there. Patrons normally are not allowed to light up because the tavern does not have a separate smoking area, but if Thompson were the only customer, he got a waiver. ''We called it the Hunter Rule,'' Harris said.
