Andrew Vik
Tampa, FL.
[log in to unmask]

Dear Carole:

There are some Hydrobiid snails that are restricted to only one small spring,
thus being rare because of restricted habitat.

Gib-town is not too far away from here, but I've not heard of either man before.
I do know one thing, though. Nobody hunts for freshwater species at night.
They are difficult enough to find during daylight. I suspect that this was a
cover
story for some other activity.

Yours, Andrew

[log in to unmask] wrote:

> Dear all,
>  I just read a disturbing piece in our Palm Beach Post. It states that," a 49
> year old man died on a snail-gathering expedition west of Boynton Beach, Fl.
> early Saturday morning.
>   According to the sheriff's department, Ricky Reddick of Gibsonton, near
> Tampa, was looking for a rare type of snail with his business partner,
> exploring shallow canals off U.S. 441, north of Boynton Beach Blvd. Reddick
> and his partner, Kenneth Peterman, separated. When Peterman returned around
> 2:30 a.m., he found Reddick face-down in about 18 inches of water. The cause
> of death was unknown, but sheriff's detective said it may have been a heart
> attack."
>
>   My question, does anyone know this man? What type of snails could he have
> been hunting for. I am not aware of any RARE fresh water snails in this area.
>   Unfortunately the newspaper did not follow through with this article and it
> leaves me curious for more information.
>   I am still suffering from my lack of a COA contact this year. Wish I could
> have been there. It has been quite a few years since I have missed one and I
> will probably feel like the whole year has something missing to it.
>   I understand the Houston group did a bang up job. Congratulations to you
> all.
>                          Carole Marshall
>                           Lake Worth, Fl.