South Carolina

He died on his way to Hilton Head. Now his family searches for his killer.

Barri Shank
Barri Shank GoFundMe photo

An Ohio man was shot to death outside a popular North Charleston hotel, and police are still scrambling for answers.

The Post and Courier reports that Barri Shank, 35, and his wife, Nicole, were on their way to Hilton Head Island for vacation when their Memorial Day weekend trip turned tragic.

Nicole Shank called 911 at 12:35 p.m. the night of May 30, according to WCIV-TV reports when she found her husband lying in the parking lot with a gunshot wound in his back. He had taken the dogs out for a walk.

“My husband’s bleeding. He’s been shot or stabbed. We’re at the Hyatt at the Charleston Airport. Please come right away!”

He was able to speak when police arrived and said he didn’t know who shot him, according to The Post and Courier. He died later in the hospital.

The couple had flown into the Charleston airport that night from Cleveland, rented a car, and checked into the Hyatt Place Hotel, where they planned on staying the night before driving to Hilton Head Island for a vacation, according to Post and Courier reports.

The Shanks had been married for 16 months. He was the director of debt capital markets for PNC Bank. According to his obituary, he graduated in 2004 from the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned two degrees in accounting and finance.

His family is shocked and searching for answers.

“I’m sure he was just minding his own business,” his brother, Ben Shank, told The Post and Courier. “Maybe he saw something he wasn’t supposed to.”

Police told The Post and Courier that Shank’s wallet was still on him when he was found in the parking lot. North Charleston police are continuing their investigation.

“We have no idea,” police spokesman Spencer Pryor told The Post and Courier on Tuesday.

Shank’s family has raised over $44,000 through a GoFundMe account for a reward to find Shank’s killer.

Mandy Matney: 843-706-8147, @MandyMatney

This story was originally published June 10, 2016 at 9:36 AM.

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