PARIS – A Paris man was indicted by an Oxford County grand jury Thursday on a felony charge of manslaughter in the shooting death of 18-year-old Megan Ripley.

Timothy Bean, 51, of Paris was charged with the offense, which could carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, after his hunting outing ended tragically.

Ripley was shot in the chest about 4 p.m. on Dec. 7, and died about an hour later. She had been walking at the wooded edge of a wide field near her home on Christian Ridge Road near the top of Streaked Mountain.

Maine Warden Service officers believed Ripley’s death was the result of either recklessness or criminal negligence, which led to the manslaughter charge. Investigators said Bean did not intend to kill her.

Following his arrest, Bean was released from the Oxford County Jail on his own recognizance, but he is prohibited from possessing firearms or hunting. Bean, who has no criminal record, had been using a muzzleloader during the final week of the state’s black powder deer hunting season.

Before Ripley’s death, the last hunting fatality in Maine was in 2004.