TANNER, AL - Authorities are searching for a Morgan County man who called 911 Monday night to say he'd been shot, but then hung up after telling dispatchers his attackers had seen him hiding.

The call came in at 8:09 p.m. and the caller, later identified as Oren Stidham of Eva, said he'd been shot and needed help, said Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely.

Stidham, 51, told dispatchers he was somewhere next to the river before saying, "They're coming back. They've seen me move." and then abruptly hanging up, Blakely said.

Blakely said authorities traced the coordinates from the phone call to an area on Garrett Road, east of Interstate 65 between exits 340 and 347.

Sheriff's officials traced the cell number to Stidham and contacted his wife in Eva for more information.

Blakely said Stidham, a rabbit and chicken farmer, had been on a trip to sell rabbits in Kentucky with a friend.

The friend told authorities he'd dropped Stidham off at his truck at the Falkville exit about 7:30 p.m. Monday. Blakely said the location of the call was about 30 minutes away from the exit where Stidham was last seen.

Blakely said officers were in the Garrett Road area within 10 minutes after the call was made and at the exact location within 30 minutes. There were no blood stains or physical evidence anyone had been shot, Blakely said.

"It's kind of bizarre," he said. "We were expecting to find someone shot."

Blakely said authorities haven't found Stidham's truck and there have been no calls made from his cell phone and no purchases made from his credit cards since Monday's mysterious 911 call.

Stidham is described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs about 220 pounds. He has salt-and-pepper hair with a gray goatee and brown eyes.

He was last seen driving a black 1993 Ford Ranger with Alabama license plate 52F63P8.

If anyone has any information on Stidham's whereabouts, they're urged to call the Limestone County Sheriff's Office at 256-323-0111 or the Morgan County Sheriff's Office at 256-351-4800.

Stidham has no criminal history other than minor traffic violations. Stidham's wife told authorities her husband didn't drink or do drugs and regularly attended church.