COUNTY — A Pickens hunter was found dead hanging from his tree stand Sunday.

According to Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley, James R. Chapman, 62, of Lakeview Heights Road died before 5 p.m. on Weaver Creek Trail off S.C. Highway 11.

Kelley classified Chapman’s death as an accident, and the case is still under investigation by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Kelley said the death did not appear to be self-inflicted, and Chapman was not shot. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.

DNR officials said Chapman had been hunting on private land in a remote area, and when he hadn’t returned a family member went to check on him. The family member found him hanging from part of the safety mechanism of his tree stand.