JASPER COUNTY, Ga. --

A hunter shot and killed a U.S. Forest Service officer in Jasper County, according to Forest Service officials.

Investigators said two men were hunting for coyotes using high-powered rifles and night scopes at the Ocmulgee Bluff Equestrian Recreation Area on the Oconee Ranger District of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Jasper County late Friday night.

Hunter Norman Clinton Hale, 40, of McDonough mistook Christopher Arby Upton, 37, for game and shot him. Rangers identified Hale's hunting companion as Clifford Allen McGouirk, 41, of Jackson.

"After the shooting, the hunters dialed 911 and reported a hunting incident," said Stephanie Neal Johnson of the Forest Service.

The Forest Service and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division are investigating the incident.

"This is a tragic incident where the loss of a federal officer's life could have been avoided," said Steven Ruppert, apecial agent-in-charge for the Southern Region of the Forest Service. "This is a devastating loss for Chris' family, our agency, other law enforcement officers and his friends and neighbors in Monroe."

Upton is survived by his wife and a 4-year-old daughter.

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