Sheriff's deputies say it was all a misunderstanding...
But in Columbia County Thursday... rumor had it, that the sheriff had been shot and killed.
And officials say the rumor spread like wildfire.
Concerned citizens, even some elected officials, called the sheriff's office to see if what they were hearing was true.
Sheriff Mark Hunter was taking many of those calls himself... and wants to set the record straight: he's alive.
The sheriff's office doesn't know how the rumor got started, but Hunter says, he wants everyone to know he's doing just fine.
In fact, he says he's better than fine-- Now he realizes just how many people truly care about him.