By By Arthur McLean
A Cantonment man died Thursday morning in an apparent logging accident near Nokomis.
John M. Robbins, 55, of Cantonment, Fla. was clearing a lot with another man for a Florida logging company when a tree fell on Robbins, killing him.
Major Mike Murphy of the Escambia County Sheriff's Department said the death was being investigated as an accident.
Robbins and his coworker were logging a lot south of Atmore on James Road Thursday morning. Robbins' coworker was using a skid steer vehicle to move the cut trees for later loading on a truck.
Murphy said the man noticed Robbins' chainsaw laying on the ground and thought something was wrong when he stopped his vehicle and looked for Robbins, finding him pinned under a tree.
"We're investigating how the tree came to be on top of Mr. Robbins," Murphy said. "He was not cutting down the tree when it fell on him."
Emergency officials were called to the scene shortly before 9 a.m. and Robbins was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Robbins body was taken to Atmore Community Hospital. The case is still under investigation.