Thomas R. Carlson, 50, was found dead after a hunting trip in Busti, New York. He left for a hunt on Monday, November 28, 2016, and did not return; family members began a search that ended with his body being located near Orr Street Extension and Garfield Road. Officers from the Lakewood-Busti Police Department responded to a call at about 12:45 p.m. and found Carlson deceased.

The investigation determined Carlson sustained a single, accidental gunshot wound from his own firearm. The Chautauqua County Coroner’s Office, multiple local fire departments, the Chautauqua County Forensic Investigation Team and the New York State Environmental Conservation Police all participated in the response. No suspects or arrests were reported and the death was ruled an accident.

Carlson was a Jamestown High School graduate (class of 1984) and held a degree in Forest Technology from Paul Smith’s College. He was an avid outdoorsman involved in skeet and trap shooting, deer hunting, muskellunge fishing, snowmobiling, kayaking and horseback riding, and a long‑time member of several rod and gun clubs.

If anyone has information about Carlson’s movements that day or saw him in the Busti area, please share what is known.