It started with a dead raccoon, and ended with a man shot and hit by truck

It all started with a man walking in Mason County, dragging a dead raccoon behind him.

But Mason County Sheriff’s Office investigators are still trying to piece together the incident that ended with a shooting and hit-and-run late Sunday morning near Allyn.

The man was walking along Route 3 near Lake Devereaux Road. “The raccoon was clearly roadkill,” said Lt. Travis Adams.

The man told investigators he planned to use it as bait in a crab pot.

But some motorists got upset when they saw the man pulling the carcass along the road with a 15-foot rope.

“They thought the raccoon was a dog,” Adams said. “And they were very incensed that he was dragging this dead dog down the road.”

An argument ensued between the man and someone in a black pickup. The walking man was shot twice.

“Fortunately they were both grazing wounds to his legs,” Adams said.

Then the man was run over by the pickup, Adams said. He was taken to the hospital, and he seems to be doing OK, Adams said.

The man’s name and age were not released.

Deputies were out on the scene Tuesday to follow up on the case. Investigators also reviewed videos from the scene, and interviewed occupants from another vehicle that had contact with the man.

They also received confirmation that the carcass was a raccoon, not an opossum, which is what officials originally reported, Adams said.

Authorities are still looking for the shooting suspect, who is believed to have driven an older black Ford F150 pickup, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Twitter feed.

Anyone with information that might help the investigation is asked to call 360-426-3302.

This story was originally published June 27, 2017 at 11:12 AM with the headline "It started with a dead raccoon, and ended with a man shot and hit by truck."