An Illinois man died after he was shot in the face by a member of his own hunting party on Saturday, according to an official with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Seth Egelhoff, 26, was hunting with a group of friends in the Bays Branch Wildlife Area, about 40 miles northwest of Des Moines, when he was shot around 1 p.m. local time, Jeremy King, a conservation officer with the department, tells PEOPLE.
A 911 call came into the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office with a report saying that an individual had been shot in the marsh, King adds.
By the time he arrived at the scene, King says the sheriff’s office was there with other authorities.
Egelhoff was transported by EMS by a medical helicopter, but he died while on the way to the hospital, the official says.
King said the shooting appears to be an accident. The Iowa State Patrol and the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office are investigating, per the Associated Press and CNN.
‘We have found zero evidence anywhere that would lead to any malicious or ill intent by anybody in the hunting party,’ adds King, who says an autopsy report will be completed.
‘The individual was very distraught. Extremely.’
King said that he was told the group ‘had known each other since high school’ and ‘were just kind of doing a guy’s hunting trip.’
‘It all appears to be accidental at this time,’ the official says, noting that the shot was fired when the individual ‘was making an attempt to shoot a duck.’
King tells PEOPLE he anticipates ‘zero legal action from the state.’
