Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

Ferrum College students gather Wednesday outside Vaughn Chapel after a prayer service for Ferrum senior Jessica Goode.

Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

Authorities with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries work near the scene of a deadly shooting off West Franklin Road. The shooting happened while three students in the woods searched for specimens for a science class.

Facebook photo courtesy of Tim Shipe

Jessica Goode, 23, was two weeks away from graduating from Ferrum College when she was killed. The senior environmental science major was described by loved ones as someone who enjoyed the outdoors and went camping and kayaking often.

UPDATED 10:46 a.m. Nov. 19: Ferrum man charged in death of student remains out on bond

FERRUM -- The rural character of the Ferrum College campus fit Jessica Goode perfectly, those who knew her say.

Goode's aunt, Harriet Smith, said her niece loved the outdoors and could often be found kayaking on Lake Holiday, about 30 minutes northwest of Winchester, where her parents lived.

"You can almost always count on seeing Jess out on the water," she said.

Goode was in the outdoors Tuesday, trekking through the woods near campus working on a school project when her life was cut short by a rifle bullet.

As Goode, a 23-year-old senior, and two other students searched for specimens for a science class, she was shot and killed because, according to an initial law enforcement investigation, the user of a high-powered rifle mistook them for deer on property where college life and the hunting season coexist.

Goode and student Regis Boudinot were about 75 yards from the paved cul-de-sac at the end of West Franklin Road when they were shot, said Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt. Goode was killed and Boudinot injured. The shooter was least another 100 yards into the woods when he shot the students.

Boudinot's father said Wednesday evening that his son is expected to be released from the hospital in the next few days.

The third student, who has not been identified, was not hurt.

Jason David Cloutier, 31, who lives near the campus, was arrested and charged with manslaughter, reckless handling of a firearm and trespassing, said Sgt. Karl Martin with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Cloutier was released Wednesday on $20,000 bail.

Martin said toxicology tests on Cloutier are part of the ongoing investigation.

Calling the incident a "freak accident," friends and other Ferrum students gathered Wednesday for a memorial service for Goode, who was just two weeks shy of graduation.

Student Government Association President Sam Catron described Goode, of Frederick County, as someone who always wore her heart on her sleeve and never worried about what other people thought about her.

At the memorial service, he read lyrics from the song "Pork and Beans" by the band Weezer that he said summed her up.

"Excuse my manners if I make a scene; I ain't gonna wear the clothes that you like; I'm fine and dandy with the me inside; One look in the mirror and I'm tickled pink; I don't give a hoot what you think."

"Everybody who knows Jess would agree; she was defiant," said friend Blake Saunders. "She did things her own way all the time. She was just one of those people that always spoke her mind."

Tim Shipe said he met Goode their freshman year and had several classes with her since then. He rarely saw her down and thought of her as bubbly.

"She had this way about her and an outlook on life that not many people have," he said. "She looked at life as a big adventure. She was always trying to do something fun and make sure everybody else was having fun."

Goode was an environmental science major, and Shipe described her as outdoorsy, and said she would go camping whenever she had the opportunity.

Professor Glen Stevens, who spoke with Goode recently about plans for the future, said he's not surprised to learn she loved the outdoors.

"She liked learning things," Stevens said. "She was unafraid. She was one of those easy students to teach."

The service was helpful to those who knew Goode, Catron said.

"She had a lot of friends and a lot of people who loved her," Saunders said.

After the memorial service, college officials gathered a group of students at the Welcome Center to talk to the media.

Many described Goode as others had -- bubbly and upbeat.

"Jess was a good person," said sophomore environmental science major Justin Hall. "She was happy all around."

While students dealt with the loss of Goode, some worried about Boudinot, who recently earned his pilot's license.

Stevens said he heard Boudinot was doing well and should regain use of his right hand.

The same bullet that hit Goode in the chest entered Boudinot's arm and exited his right hand, said his stepmother Kimberly Boudinot. The 20-year-old sophomore was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

Boudinot's father, Reginald, said his son had reconstructive surgery on his hand and fingers Tuesday night.

"The surgeon has advised Regis that he will not regain 100 percent use of his hands and fingers and that further surgery will be required in the coming weeks," Reginald Boudinot said.

Martin said the incident occurred on property owned by Franklin County. The wooded area at the end of West Franklin Road includes a conversion of college-, county- and privately owned land.

Martin, of the state game and fisheries agency, said it was not unlawful for anyone to be on the county land -- but that use of a firearm on county property is prohibited.

A field to the east of the county property is owned by Ferrum College where faculty conduct research, Stevens said. He said there have been issues with trespassing in the past.

Cross-country runner and Ferrum student Josh Horan said he has run on trails in the wooded area.

"It's not unusual to hear gunshots back there," he said, adding that he has seen cans with bullet holes, remnants of target practice.

Staff writers Amanda Codispoti, Belinda Harris and Jorge Valencia contributed to this report.