JACKSON COUNTY — Officials have confirmed that an Ava man was killed in a tree cutting accident Tuesday afternoon.

According to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the man’s wife contacted the sheriff’s office around 4:10 p.m. requesting a welfare check because she could not reach him by phone. The man was working outside around a saw mill.

Deputies began searching the area and eventually found the man in a wooded area in rural Ava where he had been cutting down trees. He suffered life threatening injuries after the tree he was cutting down struck him in the upper body area. The tree came to rest pinning him down on the ground.

Deputies and Ava firefighters removed the tree off the man who died. His name is not being released until family members are notified.