AUGUSTA – A New Gloucester man who suffered a gunshot wound on the last day of firearms hunting season died as a result of an accidental self-inflicted shooting, state officials said on Wednesday.

The death of Ernest L. Russell II, 55, was an accident, according to the results of a combined investigation conducted by Dr. Edward David, deputy chief medical examiner, and the Maine Warden Service.

Just after noon on Nov. 29, Russell went hunting alone on Prong Pond Mountain in Beaver Cove Township in Piscataquis County. His wife notified the Maine Warden Service through Piscataquis County dispatch at approximately 7:30 p.m. when her husband did not return as planned, according to the Warden Service.

Russell’s vehicle was located by activating its On Star system, and game wardens followed tracks in the snow to locate the hunter, Warden Service spokeswoman Deborah Turcotte said.

Lt. Patrick Dorian of the Maine Warden Service, who supervised the MWS investigation, said Russell fell approximately 21 feet down a hill after slipping on a large snow-and-ice-covered rock. The hunter had been following skidder trails on a ridge at the time.

“He never broke stride as he was walking, and after stepping on the large rock he fell face first down the hill,” Dorian said. “We feel that during the victim’s fall down the hill, in all probability the gun became cocked and he didn’t know it.”

Physical evidence at the scene was instrumental in the investigation, he said.

David performed the medical examination in this case. Eight game wardens and a Maine State Police Evidence Response Team member took part in the accidental death investigation

Russell’s death was the only fatality during last fall’s hunting season. Since 1964, 12 hunters have died as the result of accidental self-inflicted gun shots.