Widely known Hawaii hunter Eric Sawchuk is remembered as an avid outdoorsman and skilled archer who shared his knowledge in person and through his TV show, “;Hawaii Sportsman TV.”;

Sawchuk died Sunday after falling 100 feet off a ridge while goat hunting with a friend in upper Keaau near Makua Valley.

Firefighters had difficulty locating Sawchuk due to the remote location, and his hunting partner had to keep climbing to the ridge top to stay in contact with rescuers by cell phone, a fire official said.

The 41-year-old Kaneohe man had also been a full-time intensive care unit nurse at the Queen's Medical Center.

Sawchuk was the cable TV show's producer, cameraman and editor.

He would accompany other hunters and did his own hunting. The series also featured fishing. Sawchuk also offered guided archery hog hunts on his Hawaii Sportsman Web site.

Cody Weiser commented on an online forum that Sawchuk, a good friend, “;is survived by two young sons and his wife, who is in the middle of a battle with cancer.”;

“;He was a good man and a good father and one heck of a hog hunter,”; Weiser said.

Sawchuk's brother-in-law, identified as Brad, thanked hunters and nonhunters for their support of the show on a hunting forum on the Web site.

“;Eric has touched so many lives with his knowledge and passion for hunting,”; Brad said on the forum. “;He possessed a caring attitude to share his hunting experiences with seasoned hunters and individuals new to the sport. His untimely passing has left us all with an awareness that we can never take our surroundings for granted, a lesson that we as parents need to instill in our children. We will miss him dearly and he will always be in our hearts.”;

Sawchuk told the Star-Bulletin in 2004 that he got many calls from hunters and nonhunters who enjoyed the show, but also complaints from animal-rights activists and others. The Star-Bulletin had received a complaint about the “;brutal”; nature of a pig-hunting video, but he defended it, saying, “;I do not show any graphic blood.”;

He added that he never showed the actual “;dispatching of the pig”; by knife.