Marion County Coroner Troy Cannon says an autopsy will be held Monday to try and determine what led to the death of a 59-year-old Centralia man at the foot of his deer stand in a wooded area east of Centralia Friday morning.
Martin Metzger was pronounced deceased on the scene at 10:50 am.
The Marion County Coroner’s Office and Illinois Department of Natural Resources are investigating the circumstances of Metzker’s death. Foul play is not suspected.
Cannon says the autopsy will determine whether the death was due to a fall from the stand or an undiagnosed medical condition.
The Centralia City Fire Department and Centralia Fire Protection District were both called to the scene to help move Metzker out of the remote area of the deer stand off the 1500 block of Firewood Lane off Raccoon Lake.
The recovery effort began at 9:22 Friday morning and concluded at 12:45 Friday afternoon.
The incident occurred on the first day of the shotgun deer hunting weekend that continues through dusk Sunday night.
