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Napa Hunter Accidentally Shot To Death

SANTA ROSA (CBS / AP / BCN) -- A Napa man was accidentally shot and killed while hunting for pheasants with his 11-year-old son and two friends over the weekend, authorities said Monday.

Daniel Downs, 44, was hunting near Sears Point in Sonoma County when the shooting happened Sunday about 4:15 p.m.

Downs was found dead when Sonoma County sheriff's deputies arrived near 3000 state Highway 37 in the area of the San Pablo Bay Wildlife Refuge following the report of a shooting.

"We have determined that the shooting was accidental," sheriff's Capt. Matt McCaffrey said, but he added that investigators had not yet determined who in the hunting party was responsible for shooting Downs.

The Sheriff's Office and the state Department of Fish and Game were handling the death investigation.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)

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