Pike district magistrate perishes while hunting

Blooming Grove - Searchers found the body of Magisterial District Judge William N. Sanquilly on a rugged hilltop at the Blooming Grove Hunting Club, last Sunday afternoon, state police reported. Police said there were no signs of foul play and were confident that the 61-year-old Hawley resident died of natural causes. Trooper Frank Orlando reported the judge had a history cardiac problems. “It was a rugged hill. I was out of breath when I got to the top,” Orlando said. A former U.S. Marine, Sanquilly was an avid hunter. Orlando said Sanquilly and a companion were in pursuit of coyote at the time of his death. Sanquilly was the “driver” attempting push the animal toward his companion. The two kept in touch by cell phone, and in his last message, the judge estimated he would be out of the woods in about 15 minutes. When the unnamed companion was later unable to find or raise Sanquilly on his cell phone, he called club officials, who called in state police shortly after 3 p.m., Orlando said. Blooming Grove, Greeley and Hemlock Farms firefighters were called to assist, but Orlando said a club employee found Sanquilly’s body around 4 p.m., before the larger scale search got underway. Sanquilly was in his fourth six-year term as a judge, serving since 1987. On Monday, a distraught Pike County Commissioners chair Harry Forbes called Sanquilly death “a great loss for Pike County.” District court administrator Samantha Johnson issued a statement announcing the death. “His passing is truly tragic to the court and his presence and character will be missed by all who knew and worked with him.” An obituary appears on page 15.