Girl Allegedly Shoots Dad for Taking Cell Phone, Police Say

May 26, 2011— -- A father remains in serious condition after police said his 15-year-old daughter allegedly shot him with a hunting bow Wednesday evening.

Police said the arrow struck the torso of the 35-year-old father, who was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The Tahyua, Wash., man told police he had taken away his daughter's cell phone to discipline her, although police did not know why she'd been grounded.

Mason County sheriff's spokesman William Adam told ABCNews.com, "He crawled out of a window of his house, and then he was able to crawl to a vehicle and drive to a neighbor's house. The closest neighbor was a third of a mile away."

The teenager gave up willingly after deputies found her in a forest area near her home, Adam said.

"She had an excess of at least 36 arrows, along with the compound bow, according to her father," Adam said.

Compound bows, which are popular with hunters, allow shooters to draw the bow with less effort than is required for other kinds of bows, making it easier to aim at a target.

Carolyn Kennedy, 59, said she was watching "American Idol" with her family when they heard ambulances arrive on rural NE Tee Lake Road. She assumed that one of the many retired residents on her street might have had a health emergency.

She's unsure which home was involved, saying there aren't many families with teenagers.

"We don't have cell phone coverage out here," she said. "There must have been quite a discussion going on."

Police said after they apprehended the girl, they found her to be "despondent, with serious medical issues, so she was transferred to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital."

She is likely to be released this afternoon and brought before a judge sometime Friday.

"I've been working here 17 years. I've been a cop for 31 years, and it's very rare that I've ever heard of a child retaliating like this," said Adam.