Authorities say a hunter died after he fell into a sinkhole while looking for a deer he believed he shot.

Sheriff Ron Long says the hunter fell into the hole in southwest Missouri, which was about 70 feet deep, on Monday evening near Buckhorn. He told his wife earlier that he was going to track a deer he hit while bow-hunting. She called authorities when he didn’t return home.

Emergency personnel found his body about 3 a.m. Investigators believe the sinkhole opened up during heavy rains last month but the hunter didn’t see it in the dark because it was behind foliage.

Pulaski County Assistant Coroner Michael McCart ruled the death accidental.