A hunting trip among family members in Union County, South Carolina, ended in a fatal shooting on the evening of Saturday, November 12, 2016. Thirty-year-old Brian Gregory Pickle of Atlanta, Georgia, was on leased land with his father and brother when he was struck in the head by a gunshot and found deceased in the woods as dusk fell.

Brian’s brother, Scott L. Pickle, fired a shot he said was aimed at a small animal — investigators reported the fading light created urgency to take the shot. The Union County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation, the coroner listed cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources also investigated. Authorities described the event as a heartbreaking accident, and no charges were immediately filed.

If anyone was on or near that leased property that evening or has information about the circumstances leading up to the shot, please come forward.