By David Howell

A Sardis man was killed late Tuesday afternoon, apparently shot while hunting with his buddy near Pleasant Grove.

Panola County Coroner Gracie Gulledge reported a gunshot wound as the cause of death for Robert Christopher McArthur, age 55.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete Thursday at Wells Funeral Home in Batesville.

The accident occurred off of Adams Road, west of Sardis. Gulledge said his home address was 567 Adams Road.

The shooting apparently occurred while McArthur and his hunting partner were making a drive for deer, according to Sheriff Dennis Darby.

The 911 call came in shortly  after dark, and Darby said the hunter had to run back to his house to call and notify authorities. Darby also said the hunting partner had gotten his vehicle stuck after the shooting.

“The deputies had a terrible time getting in there,” Darby added about the remote location of the incident. Several additional vehicles also bogged down in the mud during the response and McArthur had to be carried to the road. The area also had little or no cell phone service, according to the sheriff.

Darby said investigators in his department, assisted by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, returned to the scene Wednesday morning as part of the ongoing investigation.

The sheriff added that the incident will likely be ruled an accident, but his agency had “to make 100 percent sure.”

“His friend was distraught,” Darby also told the Reporter.

Part of the investigation Wednesday was to pinpoint the exact location of the shooting and how it happened.

Gulledge said an autopsy would be performed, a routine procedure. Funeral arrangements were incomplete at presstime.