Amish girl killed by stray bullet fired by man cleaning his rifle

15-year-old Rachel Yoder of Wayne County, Ohio was traveling home after attending a Christmas party when she was struck in the head by a stray bullet. Rachel, who is Amish, was driving a horse-drawn buggy. The Holmes County Sheriff believes the bullet was shot by a man cleaning his muzzle-loading rifle more than a mile away.
Rachel's brother found her when he saw the horse walking in circles. Rachel died of her injuries.
The sheriff's department began an intensive investigation and after four days a local family went to the sheriff to say a member of their family had been cleaning his rifle and had fired it into the air around the time Rachel was shot.
State investigators are checking the rifle for a ballistics match. "In all probability, it looks like an accidental shooting," said the sheriff. No charges have,as yet, been filed.