Hunter Falls From Tree Stand, Dies

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Ohio -- The county coroner was called after a hunter died Monday, NBC 4 reported.

NBC 4's Paul Stelzer reported ODNR and the Fairfield C. Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a hunter died Monday morning after falling from a tree stand near Stoutsville, which is northwest of Circleville. 

According to the sheriff’s office, the fall happened at about 11:45 a.m.

A sheriff’s dispatcher said investigators still were trying to determine why or how the man fell: whether it was simply a slip or a loss of balance or if there was a pre-existing medical condition that contributed to the fall. 

The sheriff's office said the hunter was 60-year-old Dale Farmer from Lumber, Pa.

An ODNR law enforcement officer said Farmer failed to meet other hunters from his group at a designated time and place. When Farmer didn’t show, ODNR said, friends went looking and found the man beneath the tree stand.

ODNR's numbers on accidental-shooting incidents during deer-gun season in recent years:
2007 - 12 incidents: 1 was fatal, 11 were non-fatal; 6 of the 12 were self-inflicted
2006 - 9 incidents: 1 was fatal, 8 were non-fatal; 4 of the 9 were self-inflicted*
2005 - 8 incidents:1 was fatal, 7 were non-fatal; 2 of the 8 were self-inflicted*

(Self-inflicted indicated an accidental shooting where the hunter shot himself or herself but was not suicide. If officials determined that a fatal incident was suicide, it wasn't included in these numbers.)

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