KEY POINTS

  • The 55-year-old man was shot multiple times at what appeared to be close range Tuesday, a sheriff says
  • The sheriff said the victim lived in Benton County, Tennessee, all his life and was well-known and liked in the community
  • Police have yet to announce any potential suspect or motive behind the killing

A 55-year-old man was found dead Tuesday on his rental property in Benton County, Tennessee, in what police described as a "gruesome" attack.

Timothy Ring, who was a hunter and a farmer, had been shot multiple times at what appeared to be close range, Fox 8 reported, citing Benton County Sheriff Kenny Christopher.

Ring's lifeless body was found on his rental property, around 25 yards away from his truck in the wood line.

“It’s just tragic that these things happen and you just have to ask yourself over and over, ‘Why?'” Christopher told WKRN.

The sheriff called the act “cold-blooded,” adding, “It was very gruesome. The fact of where it was, how he was left lying in the woods like that.”

According to Ring’s family, prior to his death, he told them that he was going to work on his deer stand. They found his truck hours later in the field, with the deer stand still in the back.

The family searched for Ring and found his body on the property after they heard his phone ring.

Sheriff Christopher said Ring had lived in the area all his life and was well-known and liked in the community.

“I’ve known him all of his life. I don’t know of him having any enemies or anything like that. (He’s) pretty well thought of in Benton County. Just a good guy, just not the kind of guy that you ever worried about getting into anything. You could leave anything with him. He was honest, hard-working,” he said.

An investigation into the death is now underway. Benton County investigators are being aided by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Police have not disclosed any potential suspect or motive behind the killing as of this writing.

“I really, really feel sorry for the family at this time and they’re at a loss, and of course they are like any other family and they want results and they want them quick,” the sheriff said. “And we are doing the best we can on it and are going to continue to until we come up with an answer. We will get an answer before we are done.”

Investigators are requesting everyone in the Lower Big Sandy Road area of Benton County to check their security and trail cameras from Tuesday between 2 and 7 p.m.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Benton County Sheriff’s Department’s anonymous tip line at 731-441-3519 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Crime scene police line | Representational Image
Crime scene police line | Representational Image GETTY IMAGES / SCOTT OLSON