A group of white-tailed deer hunters is being credited for helping save a man’s life while they found him unresponsive in the woods yesterday afternoon in Madison County, Iowa.

The group of men were conducting a deer drive on private land when they came upon an individual who had fallen and was unresponsive.

Longtime Deer & Deer Hunting fan Joe Hogan was one of the first responders on the scene. Here’s his first-hand report:

“The man had suffered a medical emergency, apparently while scouting for a place to erect a tree stand for deer hunting. He was unable to speak or even utilize his phone. He wasn’t hunting, so he was not wearing blaze orange. Therefore, it is unlikely he would have otherwise been found in time had we not found him first. Luckily, over half of the guys in our group are either active or retired firefighters and paramedics, so we knew what to do.

“While we provided basic first aid, a few of us had enough cell coverage to contact 911 and call in the other members of our party to assist. One of our youngsters went to the road and guided the responding EMS crew to the location. We assisted in carrying him out on a litter and he was later air-lifted to a hospital in Des Moines.”

The man was admitted to the hospital where he was kept overnight. We will provide an update as more details become available.